


Can I Borrow You For A Lifetime?

by NekoAliceYamiYaoi



Category: Teen Wolf (TV), The Maze Runner (Movies), The Maze Runner Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Happy Ending, I'll tag as I write, Kindergarten Teacher!Stiles, Lawyer!Peter, M/M, Multi, anti brenda, bad!brenda, bi!thomas, but not actual mpreg on the story, demi!newt, doctor!lydia, eventual newtmas - Freeform, firefigther!derek, married Isaac and Scott, married Peter and Lydia, married Stiles and Derek, mentions of mpreg, minho and thomas are bff, pan!aris, paramedic!isaac, there's smut in one chapter, thomas and teresa are bff, veterinarian!scott
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-18
Updated: 2016-12-23
Packaged: 2018-03-18 12:25:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 47
Words: 218,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3569636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NekoAliceYamiYaoi/pseuds/NekoAliceYamiYaoi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Don't people say "Love is just around the corner"? Thomas Hale didn't believed in that until he met a certain British blonde, who makes him realize that sometimes love isn't easy, but it's worth it; it must be fought for, because once you find it, it can never be replaced. Cheesy as that sounds, Thomas realizes it's true. This is his story as a normal teenager, full with happy and sad moments, love, family, friends and homeworks.</p>
<p> <br/>Sequel to my other story 'Got To Get You Into My Life'.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pilot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm back and this time with another -I hope- great story! This one will have characters from James Dashner's "The Maze Runner".
> 
> It's a sequel my other story, "Got To Get You Into My Life", but it's not entirely necessary to read it. But if you want to do it, be my guest. So, to stop rambling about this, why don't I let you enjoy this first chapter?

Rays of light went through the curtains of a window on certain house and certain bedroom to the bed of certain boy. Over the bed with the blanket covering his body was a 17 year-old boy. He was soundly sleeping, his face turned towards the window as his body was sprawled all over the bed with his right leg hanging over the edge. It was a quiet morning until a loud noise made the boy wake up.

Brown eyes opened at the sound of his alarm playing. The boy lying on the bed stretched his hand from under the covers and towards the alarm. His hand touched the nightstand, then hovered over an Algebra book until it finally reached the clock alarm. He shut off the alarm and stretched over his bed. Why was school this early? Why couldn't he stay at home and rest a little more? He sighed when he heard his door being knocked.

"I'm up! I'm up!" he said as he rubbed his eyes.

 _"Hurry up, Thomas. You don't want to be late."_ said another voice at the other side of the door.

That was his pops. He was a brunet haired man with light brown almost amber eyes, his face -and body, _according to his other father_ \- was covered with moles. He was a little hyperactive, dorky and a bit careless sometimes. But he was loving, wise and protective.

Yep. He was Stiles Stilinski. Well, more like Stiles Hale now. When he and his other dad had decided to marry, Stiles took his father last name and so Thomas was a Hale too. In his house they were his pops Stiles, Derek -his other dad- and Thomas. A small family, but he loved them. And also, his family wasn't as little as it seemed. There was Uncle Peter, Derek's uncle. Aunt Lydia, Malia ([x](http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/teenwolf/images/c/cc/Teen_Wolf_Season_3_Episode_20_Echo_House_Shelley_Hennig_Malia_Tate.png/revision/latest?cb=20140225042705)) and the twins, Aiden & Ethan ([x](http://iv1.lisimg.com/image/939340/600full-desperate-housewives-screenshot.jpg)).

The twins and Malia were his cousins. Malia, whom he sometimes called 'coyote'. Thomas called her that because one time when they were little, they had a fight over some stupid thing and she bit his arm. _Literally._ She bit his arm and even leaved her tooth prints over his skin. Aunt Lydia had come and rescued him, telling Malia that kids shouldn't do that and that she was like a coyote for biting Thomas. Thomas heard the word 'coyote' and told Malia she was that. From that and on, coyote stayed as Malia's nickname. But it wasn't an insult. Malia knew it. Thomas knew it. He called her that when he wanted to tease her, or when he was being nice. You would need to see the circumstances in which was said. And then there were the twins, they were these little 11 year-old imps who were always doing pranks. _Ugh, how can Aunt Lydia control them?_ The funny thing was that even thought they were identical twins, they had different birthdays: Ethan was born on July 31, and Aiden was born seven minutes later on August 1. Although Aiden was the younger one, he was the worst of the two and the first one to get in trouble.

Thomas sat over his bed, looking at his alarm. _6:06 a.m._ He scratched the back of his head and stood up, going to the bathroom. As he closed the door, he thought about the rest of the family.

Aunt Lydia was his favorite aunt. He had her, Aunt Erica -Derek's friend- and Aunt Allison. But Allison was always traveling because of her husband's work, so they couldn't stay at Beacon Hills. The last thing he remembers was that she was in England and had a kid. When he was little, his father and Uncle Scott would put him over Skype so she could see him. Uncle Scott was Stiles's best friend and Derek's step-brother. He and his husband Isaac had the fraternal twins Alex and Max ([x](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_md1bx5wmFn1r7lpj3o1_500.jpg)). With them they were a family. A little disperse, but he loved them that way.

As he brushed his teeth he saw himself at the mirror. He had short brown hair that sometimes stuck to his forehead and pale skin with a sprinkle of moles. You could say he was the exact replica of Stiles. Only younger, of course.

After changing clothes -a dark grey plain shirt, black jeans and dark navy shoes- and grabbing his backpack, he opened the door, exited his room and went downstairs. He approached the kitchen, where Stiles was making breakfast, his back to him as he flipped the hotcakes. Thomas sat on the table, making his presence noted by the other brunet who turned around and smiled at him.

"Morning."

"Morning..." he mumbled, his sleepy tone being obvious.

"Did you slept late?"

"Kid of... History essay."

"Finished it?" asked Stiles as he brought a plate with three pancakes to the table, waiting for his son's answer.

"Yeah. Late, but yeah." the brunet nodded and leaved the plate in front of Thomas, who began eating hungrily, "Is dad up?"

Stiles snorted, passing him the honey syrup, "He is gone. He left at 5 a.m." His dad was a firefighter. And volunteer at the hospital sometimes.

"At what hour does he returns?"

"Mmm, let's see..." said Stiles as he brought his hand to his mouth, his pointing finger tapping his lips as he immersed into thoughts, a silver band around his ring finger gleamed. His dad had one too. His parents had married when he was 4 years old. They didn't wanted to hurry up anything. _Yeah, because you don't want to rush anything when you have a kid_. Thomas chuckled at that, and then his pops spoke again, "Before you come back from school, that's for sure." he noticed how his son was eating normal, even though he had school to attend, "Why aren't you in a hurry? Aren't you going to miss the school bus?"

Thomas shakes his head, "Aunt Lydia said she could drive me today. She must be here any minute."

Suddenly screams startles them but is soon replaced by calm as they see two slightly-red head twins running towards them in the kitchen, specifically at the fridge.

"You little imps! You scared the hell out of me." said Stiles as a hand touched his chest.

A strawberry blonde woman appeared at the kitchen entrance, wearing a green horse print blouse, an elbow patched black blazer and a maroon leather skirt ([x](http://assets.wornon.tv/uploads/2013/07/lydias-green-horse-print-blouse.jpg)). "Aiden, Ethan, what did I told you about scaring uncle Stiles?" said Lydia.

"Not to do it because he might have a heart attack." said at unison the twins as they grabbed a juice and opened it.

Lydia rolled her eyes and entered the kitchen, giving Thomas a small kiss on his cheek and then to Stiles. Malia appeared behind Lydia; she was wearing a plain purple shirt, American flag print denim shorts and black boots ([x](http://ak2.polyvoreimg.com/cgi/img-set/cid/126294693/id/tmJYiaD84xGgriBvtP8JyA/size/y.jpg)).  She approached Thomas's side at the table and in a swift move a hotcake was suddenly on her mouth, chewing in delight.

"Hey! That's mine!" said Thomas looking at the girl.

"Malia..." reproached her Lydia as she wiped the orange juice of one of the twins face.

Malia took out the hotcake from her mouth like a punished puppy and presented the hotcake at Thomas. Thomas looked between the hotcake and the girl, "Oh, I feel sorry for the poor little bastard who marries you." he said with a grin on his face, still looking at Malia. She stares at him and then shoves the hotcake in his mouth with a stoic face. Thomas barely blinks as she does so. Normal routine, you may say.

"Stiles, don't you have work?" asked Lydia.

Stiles looked at the clock. 6:30 a.m. "Yeah, I better go change." Stiles was a kindergarten teacher, so he had to be at the school at 7 a.m., even though classes started at 8 a.m. He liked to get there early and prepare all the things the kids and him were going to do.

"Okay, let's go, people!" said Lydia as she went to the door, the twins and Malia following her. Thomas said goodbye to his dad and walked towards the group, opening the door. There was their vehicle: a white Acura MDX crossover SUV ([x](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/2014_Acura_MDX_Greenwich.jpg)). Lydia claps her hands, "All right, Malia, you first. Aiden, you next." as she says that, Malia walks towards the car.

The other twin frowns, pointing at his brother, "He's not Aiden, I am!"

"Honestly, woman, and you call yourself our mother?" says the other twin pouting.

Lydia sighs and looks at him apologetically, "Oh, I’m sorry, Aiden."

The twin nods and is half-way the street when he turns towards the strawberry woman and grins, "I’m only joking! I am Aiden!" he then runs at the car, being followed by his twin as Lydia rolls her eyes. She and Thomas walk towards the vehicle and hop on, ready to go to school.

 

* * *

 

On the ride towards school, the twins were playing between the two of them, giggling and tickling each other, evading touching Malia, who had her earphones on, looking through the window. As Lydia drove, Thomas was changing from station to station at the radio, looking for something to hear.

"Can you decide on something already?" asked Malia, still looking at the window and with her earphones on.

"I'm trying." answered Thomas, looking back at the girl and then at the radio. Mostly there were informative news cuz it was pretty early. He stopped at one station, turning up the volume.

 

_When I say Sagittarius_

_Drive that funky soul_

_When I say Pisces, holler!_ (he moved his head as if he was nodding)

_And drive your funky soul_

_When I say Gemini, heh_

 

"Hey, this has rhythm." said Thomas, his body responding to the music. Lydia smiled and her hands tapped the steering wheel.

 

_Drive your funky soul_

_When I say Scorpio, Virgo_ (his shoulders moved to the right and to the left, again and again)

 _Drive your funky soul_ (his feet tapped the floor)

 _If I say Cancer_ (he clapped and moved his arms like they were mills in front of him)

_Can you drive that funky soul?_

 

"Okay, stop it!" said Malia behind them, taking one of the earphones off, "Stop! I beg of you!" Thomas looked at her through the rear-view mirror and turned off the radio, slumping over his seat.

"Geez, chill out, coyote." Malia nodded and putted on her earphone, looking at the landscape through the window. Thomas glanced at Lydia, who did the same and they both chuckled.

Finally arriving at the school, Lydia parked near the entrance. Malia was the first one to get out of the car, not before giving Lydia a quick kiss on her cheek. Lydia starts waving at her, "Bye, honey! Make good choices!" Malia rolls her eyes and starts walking away.

Thomas stepped out of the car and went around it to be standing in front of the driver's window, "Goodbye, aunt Lydia." he said as he leaned to give a hug to Lydia.

"Goodbye, honey. Have fun, but not too much." she said with a wink as they separated. Moments later Thomas leaved walking towards the building as Lydia drove away.

Thomas entered the building and went directly to his locker. He opened it and searched for his Math and Geography book. His locker was kind of a mess. Bunch of papers, all wrinkled and torn, notebooks between books and a grey hoodie. _Oh, there it was!_ On the walls and door of the locker there were some photos of his family and friends. One with him and his two dads on his 10th birthday, Thomas wearing a small crown and Stiles and Derek at each side of him. One with Aunt Lydia pregnant, Malia and him at the water park, wearing swimsuits and smiling at the camera. One with him, his arm around the shoulder of a dark haired girl with stunning blue eyes and pale skin. Thomas smiled at that photo. That was Teresa, she was his best friend. And there were some other photos. He grabbed his books and closed the locker, turning his head at the hall when he spotted a familiar face.

"Minho!" he yelled at the guy at the end of the hall as he closed his locker. An Asian guy, -same age as Thomas-, tall, dark hair and a crazy cheeky bastard. In other words, he was Thomas's best friend. Well, his male best friend. He had a female best friend but she was far from there.

The other guy grinned at him and once Thomas was near him, they fist bumped. "Hey, shank, why are you here so early? Did you face fall from your bed?"

"You wish. My aunt gave me a ride."

"You mean the hot one?" Thomas shoves him, making the other one chuckle, "What?! She is!" Thomas rolls his eyes, and in that moment the bell rings. Students began entering their classes, and this wasn't an exception to the two friends. They had Math together. Ugh, what a great way to start the day... Maths.

 

* * *

 

School went like usually it does, slow and kind of boring. After it ended, Thomas and Minho hopped on the Asian's car and went straight to his apartment ([x](https://36.media.tumblr.com/b287366ef51560c4c1242f0ccdde5043/tumblr_nlfc2oCDHO1stvuwto1_1280.png)) ([x](https://40.media.tumblr.com/bf02c5dcbb801239d36a8f81ceca5182/tumblr_nlfc2oCDHO1stvuwto2_1280.png)).

Minho lived in an apartment all by himself; He cooked, cleaned and whatever else he needed himself. His parents? They didn't lived here, but lived far, they had given Minho permission to stay at Beacon Hills after he -and Thomas- had pleaded for it. They give it a thought and agreed, saying he has mature enough to be by himself. And they were right. Besides from school, Minho had two jobs and his parents also sent him money to pay rent. He sure was responsible when he needed to be, and when not, he was worse than the tornado that brought Dorothy to Oz.

Once they arrived at Minho's apartment, the two guys entered the place and as Minho went to the fridge, Thomas sat at the couch with a TV in front of it.

"Okay shank, you wanna crash here on Friday so I can kick your ass at videogames? asked Minho while he grabbed two Dr Pepper. When they were like 12 or 13 year-old they had invented a vocabulary, more like slangs, and they usually used them. Like _shank_ , or _shuck_ , _klunk_ and more. Only the two of them -and sometimes Thomas's female best friend- used those terms.

"I would love to be the one kicking your ass but unfortunately I have to attend at a family dinner. My Aunt Allison comes, so we are going to have dinner together."

The fridge door closed, and he threw one bottle to the brunet while he walked to the armchair, "Really? That sucks."

" _Nahh_ , it's okay. I'll still see you at Saturday."

"Okay. You better be here, not like last time you said you'll come and then leaved me because of a red haired girl."

"Did you even saw her legs?"

"No, I have a girlfriend, remember?" they stay in silence for a moment and then Minho says, "Yeah, they were great."

"I know!"

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, at the McCall-Lahey house, Isaac was coming out of the laundry room when he and Max, who was lying over the couch with a magazine, heard Scott and Alex fighting. They were going down the stairs and the girl seemed to be angry and upset.

"But dad, that's so unfair! Why can't I hang out with my friends tonight?"

Scott crossed his arms and looked at Isaac, "Tell her why she can't hang out with a pair of seventeen-year-olds."

Max chuckled as Isaac turned to look at the girl, _"Seventeen-year-olds?_ Alex, you're 14."

"So?"

"So no. You can't hang out with some seventeen year-olds."

She whined, "Why? You used to hang out with dad when he was almost eighteen. You even dated him."

Isaac pointed at her, "Hey, watch it, young lady."

Scott starts talking, "Listen, you'll have plenty of time to hang out with them when you turn seventeen."

"But I'll never have the same age of them."

"I know that, honey." says Scott playing with her hair and smiling. Alex rolls her eyes and goes upstairs. Both Scott and Isaac chuckle and go to the kitchen. In that moment the doorbell rings, "I'll go." says Scott as he walks towards the door. He opens it, revealing Thomas, "Hey, Thomas."

He entered the house, "Hey, Uncle Scott." he nodded at the sandy blonde man, "Hi, Uncle Isaac. Hey, Max." the other brunet raised his hand, answering his salute. Scott closed the door and the Thomas turned towards him.

"What's up?"

"Pops told me to ask you if you knew at what time does Aunt Allison comes."

Scott chuckles and walks towards the counter, looking through some papers until he found the one, "She arrives at 2 o'clock."

"Thanks." he looks at his phone, "I gotta go. Need to do homework." the dark haired man nodded, "Bye, Max." he and the other brunet bump fists. Thomas went to the door, "Goodbye, Uncle Isaac." he looked up and yelled, "Goodbye, Alex!" and then he leaved.

 

* * *

 

When Thomas arrived home, his dad had arrived from work. Derek was at the kitchen, preparing a sandwich with his back at the door. Thomas walked towards the kitchen counter and sat, resting his elbows over there.

"You're early." he rested his face on his hands.

Derek glanced behind his shoulder, "A little, yeah."

Still with his head on his hands, the brunet looked around, "And pops?"

"He's with Lydia. She recruited him to arrange the dinner on Friday even though we decided to go out for dinner." Derek putted his sandwich on the counter and turned around to put the things back at the fridge. Thomas eyed the sandwich and then at his dad, "Where were you?"

"With Minho. Then with Uncle Scott." still with his back at Thomas, Derek heard the stool moving and a few steps on the stairs, "I'm going to do my homework on my room."

"Okay."

Derek turned around with a coke on his hand and found his sandwich missing. He looked around to see if moved it to another place, "Where- " he rolled his eyes, sighed deep and then yelled   _"Thomas!"_

The sound of a door closing was what gave away the brunet boy.

 

* * *

 

Thomas was over his bed, books and papers all over it, the sandwich just right at his Math book. _Minho says Math is easy. In which world? Well, he's bad at Logic and I understand it._ He was finishing his Maths homework when a knock interrupted him. The brunet bit his sandwich and said "Come in."

The door opened and Stiles entered the room, "Hey. Still doing homework?" he tilted his head, his hand still grabbing the knob.

"I'm almost done."

"Okay. Better get some sleep."

"I will."

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight." Stiles closed the door, leaving the brunet alone at his room. He finished writing and putted away his books and backpack. He brushed his teeth and changed his shirt and pants. As he turned off the light and lay down his head on the pillow, his mind started slipping off.

Two days more for Friday. One day more for his life to change.

 

 

_"We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us." Joseph Campbell._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, as I had said, I did a sequel. And including characters from the Maze Runner. Now this fic has both characters from Teen Wolf and the Maze Runner. I really, really hope you like it.  
> Okay, so now some things you might need to know:
> 
> -At first Malia has the same look she had when she first appeared on Teen Wolf, but then she changes it to what she looks like now. Also Alex (like Selena's character Alex from Wizards of Waverly Place) has her initial look and then she changes it.
> 
> -As you can see at the draw, Minho's room is number two; the first one is normally Thomas's, guests or Minho's parents.
> 
> -The song Thomas was hearing over the radio at the car was "People Get Up and Drive Your Funky Soul" by James Brown.
> 
> -Scott's kids names are Maximilian Jesus (everyone calls him Max, sometimes Scott calls him Jesus) and Alexandra Margarita (Alex for short).
> 
> -Some chapters will have a quote or maybe two (at the beginning and at the end) regarding the chapter.
> 
> I'm not that good with relatives and generations, but anyways... I think Thomas and Malia, and the twins are first cousins once removed. But I'll just say "cousins" to not confuse. If you find an error let me know so I can fix it. Also, if you want to know sometime else just tell me.
> 
> Leave reviews and let me know what do you think. I really, really hope you give this one a chance.


	2. You're Like Madonna's Song: Beautiful Stranger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new character appears! And he’s from the Maze Runner too! I’m sure you will love it. Besides, he will become important to this story. Read to find out!

After coming out of school, Thomas decided to have something to eat, so he and Minho went to the nearest restaurant. In between their meal and their conversation in who is better at videogames, the Asian's phone rang and he looked at the screen. His eyes widen and he jump off from his seat, grabbing his things and wiping his mouth.

" _Shit!_ Sonya! I almost forgot we were gonna have dinner together after school!" he drank his glass of coke quickly.

"Explain me again how come you have a girlfriend?"

"Because I can keep my little buddy in my pants for just one girl unlike others." he said looking at the brunet.

The other one grinned, "Ha-ha."

Minho finished keeping away his things, they bump fists and then he ran away from there. The brunet watched him through the window as he bumped into people, his bag falling and then picking it up quickly and running. Thomas shook his head laughing. _What a slinthead,_ he thought and continued eating.

A few more minutes passed and then the bell that hanged over the door rang, catching the brunet's attention, because _who doesn't turns to look at what kind of people enter a restaurant?_

Thomas notices something, more like _someone_ who makes him drop his fork on the plate. A gorgeous blonde guy entered the place and _God_ , he could swear the sunlight that went through the window make his golden hair look like a halo. He had brown eyes like chocolate. Cheesy, I know. But it was true. He was around his age, although he seemed young. The blonde guy sat at a table near the window and sighed. He checked his pocket and Thomas was sure, by the look on the blonde's face, he didn't have any money. He even heard him mutter 'bloody hell' with a rather sexy accent.

A little, chubby and bald waiter approached him, noticing he didn't have money, "What can I get you?" he asked the blonde.

"Um, can I just have a glass of water?"

"No buy, no sit." the waiter points at a placard on the wall that said 'NO BUY NO SIT'. "See?"

The blonde sighs, "Can I use the bathroom?"

The waiter holds his hands up looking mad, "No buy, no bathroom!" he says leaving to another table.

"Okay! Great. Fine, I'm leaving." the blonde stands up and in the moment he does so he almost trips over a client, putting a hand over the table, "Sorry." he said as the man nodded at him, gaining some looks from the clients.

When he removes his hand form the table, he accidentally splatters the salt. The blonde rolls his eyes, "Perfect." Thomas looks at this and begins paying his meal quickly. The blonde guy grabs the salt and turns to everyone, "Just so everyone knows, you may think what I'm about to do is ridiculous," the waiter stands beside a costumer, looking at him, "but it won't hurt anyone." he pours a little bit of salt on his hand.

The waiter walks towards him furious, "Get out!" and in that moment the blonde threw the salt over his shoulder, falling onto the waiters eyes, " _Ahh!_ My eyes!" he turns around, covering his mouth as the waiter falls onto a costumers table.

"It was an accident! I'm sorry!" says the blonde putting a hand over his heart as if saying 'I swear'. Some people try to help the waiter back on his feet but couldn't.

Thomas appears behind the waiter on the floor and looks at blonde, "Hey, I think it's, uh… time to go! Now!" he says pointing with his thumb back at the door. The other one understands and goes towards him, saying 'oh my god'.

"I'm sorry. It was an accident." he repeats as he and Thomas open the door and run.

Once they're on the street Thomas looks over his shoulder, "I think we're clear."

"Thanks for that. Sorry." he gives the brunet a little smile.

"I couldn't help but overhear your..." Thomas points the restaurant, still looking at the blonde.

"Um, tantrum?" Thomas chuckles, "Yeah. Sorry about that too. Sometimes I'm a little superstitious. Some times I have luck and some others... not so much." Thomas nods.

They stop at the gates of a park. People often walked their dogs there or simply sat at one of the benches and admire the view. Thomas points quickly at the restaurant, "You looked hungry. I thought you could use this." says Thomas giving the wrapped sandwich to the blonde, "Turkey on rye, with mustard."

The other guy grabs it, "Yes. Thank you." he looks behind him at the park. "Thanks. Nice to meet you." the brunet nods, "I'm gonna..." he doesn’t finish, he just goes towards a bench to sit. Thomas stands there, watching him. He decided to leave, but turns around and walks towards the blonde guy.

The blonde is sitting, eating the sandwich as the brunet approaches him. "Listen. I know it's not my business but... Why is a lad like you alone?"

The gorgeous blonde guy swallows and chuckles, "Lad?" he shakes his head ignoring that, "I... kind of got mad with my mom about us moving here. And I, uh... ran away."

Thomas kneels in front of him, "You ran away from your home?"

"Yeah. But now I feel like that was a stupidity from my part so I can't return now." he takes another bite.

Thomas nods as if he had decided something, "Okay. Let's go." the blonde looks at him confused.

"Where are we going?"

"You are going back to your home. Come on, I'm accompanying you so that anything bad happens. You know... with you being superstitious." he then chuckles, "I really believe in what you said about not having luck some days."

"Why is that?"

Thomas points the blonde to turn around. He does so and looks at the 'WET PAINT' sign on the bench he's sited, "Oh..." the blonde breathes out as he leans over the bench.

"Look, I've too have fights with my parents. And I also escaped a few times, but the truth is I always came back. And everything would be normal again." Thomas smiles at the blonde, "Trust me." he stands up, extending his hand to the blonde, "I'm Thomas."

The blonde guy smiles, "Newt." the blonde guy –Newt accepts his hand, and with that the brunet helps him to get up. "Oh God." a squeeze sound is heard -the fresh paint separating from Newt's clothes.

"I've got you."

Newt stands up. "My gosh." he turns to see his shirt and pants, black thick lines decorating them now.

"Looks great on you." says the brunet. Newt frowns at him comically. They begin walking away from the park and back to the street.

 

* * *

 

Thomas and Newt were walking down the street, going to the direction the blonde had said to him. While in their way, they were talking and getting to know each other. The brunet couldn't keep his eyes from the blonde, always trying to sneak a glance at him. Fortunately, Newt was too busy looking around the neighborhood to pay it attention.

Thomas noticed the blonde's lips moving. _He was asking me something? Damn it! Focus, Thomas!_

 "W-what?"

"I asked if you're from here."

"Beacon Hills?" the blonde nods, "Yep. All my life been here. And you?"

"From England. I thought my accent gave it away."

"Well, you do kind of stand out." Thomas shuts his mouth, noticing the way he said it. Newt just smiles at him, turning away his head. He scratched his neck, "So... Which one's your house?" asked Thomas as they passed by the many beautiful houses. He saw as the blonde raised his hand and pointed towards a big, beautiful white house with blue framed-windows.

"That is your house?!"

"Yes."

There was a removal van parked at the stool. _Right, Newt said he and his family had moved. That reminds me, tomorrow we were gonna have dinner with Aunt Allison since she'll be back in town._ Thomas also notices the boxes at the house entrance as they approach it. Newt rang the bell and they waited.

The door opened and Thomas was surprised of the brunet woman who opened the door and was now in front of him.

"Aunt Allison?" he asked in a mix of surprise and confusion.

Allison smiled looking at the brunet, "Hi, Thomas-" she notices the blonde guy, "Newt!" she grabs him by the shoulder and hugs him, "Andrew! I found him!" she yells inside the house still hugging the boy, "We were so worried!"

"Yeah, I know. Sorry, mom."

_Did Thomas hear well? Did this glorious beautiful blonde boy just called Aunt Allison 'mom'?_ "Mom?"

Andrew appeared as well inside the house, and ran to hug Newt, who was separating from Allison, "What were you thinking?"

"I'm sorry."

Two pairs of eyes fell on the brunet, who was looking between them and he was pretty sure his ears were letting out steam. His brain just exploded. What the hell, world? How can you be so darn small?

 

* * *

 

After Allison insisted, he entered their house and began talking. Aunt Allison looked more beautiful in person that she did in Skype. Aunt Lydia and Uncle Scott were right about that. She continued smiling and talking to him about England and their lives-- _Shit, Thomas! Focus!_ _She's saying something important!_

"-And I got pregnant while at France and Newt was born on England. Don't you remember him?" Thomas shakes his head, "Well, Stiles would put you on Skype so I could see you. Scott did it a couple of times when he was babysitting you." she chuckled, "But you're sure you don't remember?"

"I just remember a kid named Newton but I- " Newton. Newt. _Oh._ Smooth, Thomas. _REALLY smooth._

She rolled her eyes with a smile, "So… How did you two met?"

Both Thomas and Newt looked at each other. The brunet decided to talk, "I was coming out from a restaurant and I wasn't looking where I was walking and we crashed. His clothes got ruined and I offered to take him home."

A phone started ringing over the kitchen counter, "That's so sweet. Thank you so much for that." as she turned towards the kitchen to tell Andrew to bring her the phone, Thomas eyed the blonde and shrugged, mouthing 'I didn't knew what to tell her. Sorry if I lied.'

Newt smiled and mouthed a 'thank you', and Thomas could live with that.

 

* * *

 

The next morning was peaceful. Derek was at the kitchen when Thomas woke up. It was 10:35 at the morning, on a school day. He overslept and missed school. And today was Friday, the day they would go and have dinner with Aunt Allison, her husband and Newt. _Newt._ Thomas thought of him as he sat on the kitchen table.

Derek looked at him, "Morning."

Thomas yawned, "Morning." over the table was a plate with scrambled eggs, toast and orange juice. Since his dad didn't say anything, he supposed it was for him. As he ate he looked around, "Where's pops?" Today was his free day, so he wasn't at school.

"He went to the mall to get something for Allison. You overslept and he didn't want to wake you. Of course, I'd oversleep too if I was up at midnight making mysterious phone calls from my bathroom."

Thomas spits his juice and coughs. He forgot about that. He had phoned Minho to tell him about Newt and that kept him awake all night. He was pretty sure the Asian boy dozed off maybe two times while he was talking. Derek just glances behind his shoulder at the brunet, who bites his toast, looking around the kitchen.

Derek said he was going to take a shower while Thomas had breakfast. The brunet took a bite of his toast and nodded, looking at his dad as he went upstairs. Thomas took out his phone and started dialing. He needed to tell Teresa about Newt. Minho already knew, and the only one left was Teresa. Hearing the shower and the dial tone calmed him little, right after he heard the other girl pick up.

"Hey, Teresa, whatever you're doing, drop it. I have to tell you something." he stood up and went to the fridge.

_"Yes, with pleasure. Let me tell you something, Tom. This is a Lamborghini you are talking to. You have to drive me."_ Thomas chuckled softly, rolling his eyes, _"You can't just leave me parked in the garage collecting dust, or I will wilt."_

Thomas nods even though the girl couldn't see him, "Well, please forgive my neglect. I promise I'll call you more frequent."

_"So, what's up? I'm coming back from my soccer practice, ended a little early. Wait, aren't you supposed to be at school?"_

He opened the door and took out more juice, "Yeah, funny story, but I'll tell you later. What I have to tell you is more important."

_"Uhh~ I like that. Hit me with your best shot, Tom."_

"Okay. You see I told you I'm going to go to a dinner with my Aunt Allison? Because she came back?"

_"Yeah?"_

"Well, and remember that she had a son about my age?"

_"Yeah."_

"Well, I met him. Yesterday. At a restaurant."

_"And how come I'm only listening to this now? Is he hot? Or cute? Both?"_

"Both, I think."

_"You think? Tom, please. This is me you're talking to, not the priest of the church. Now, spill. How is he?"_

Thomas smiled, the picture of the blonde appearing on his mind, "He's smart and fun, and..."

_"Pretty?"_

"Beautiful. He's got these eyes that just... and his hair, wow... and his smile." his head falls back at the fridge, letting out a sigh.

_"So when's the wedding?"_

"Teresa..."

_"All I am saying is that if you really like him, maybe you should-"_

Her voice was interrupted by the sound of keys at the other side of the house, startling Thomas. His pops must have come home already.

"I need to hang. Call you back later!" before the girl could say anything else, the brunet hang up the phone. He sat again at the table and continued eating as Stiles entered the house, closing the door behind him.

He smiled when he noticed Thomas at the kitchen, "Hey, sleepy head. Sleep well?" he approached the teen, a plastic bag dangling over his wrist.

"Yep."

"And your dad?"

Thomas swallowed the toast and spoke, "Shower."

"Oh, well." he took a sip from the juice and went to the stairs, "If you need me I'll be at my bedroom, I'm going to wrap this thing," he said holding up the plastic bag, "and then... I might sleep a little. I'm tired."

"Okay." Stiles smiled and went upstairs, leaving the young brunet at the kitchen.

 

* * *

 

At the afternoon, a few hours before dinner, Thomas was over his bed at his room doing homework. He had called Minho so the Asian boy could tell him the homework. He did, after calling him a slinthead for oversleeping. He was finishing his History questions when a knock on the door got his attention.

_"Knock, knock."_ he heard Stiles's voice.

"Come on in." the door opened, revealing Derek and Stiles, "What's up?"

"I'm not interrupting anything too important, right?" Thomas glanced at his notes and shook his head, "Great. I was just wondering, are those boxes with old stuff and photos still at the top of your closet?"

"Yes."

"You won't mind if I checked them? I want to show Allison some photos. Scott said he was doing the same, so..."

"Sure." he hops off from bed and went to his closet. He opened it and saw his dad walking towards him, rolling up his sleeves.

"I'll do it." said Derek.

But Thomas stopped him, "No, no. I have those things in a particular order and I don't want you to move any of those. I have a system." Derek raised his eyebrows but shrugged, moving aside. Thomas rolled up his sleeves and started picking up the boxes he had there and putting them on the floor.

'Uma Thurman' by Fall Out Boy started playing all over the room. Two pairs of eyes fell on the cell phone over the nightstand beside the bed, the screen lighting up as it vibrated, and the I.D. that said 'Teresa'.

Stiles took it and held it up, not so sure of what to do; Thomas turned his head to the right, his hands stretched up about to grab the box, "That's Teresa. Put the phone on speaker, please."

Stiles nods and he puts the phone on speaker, leaving the phone back over the nightstand and walking back at Derek. Still inside the closet and with his hands occupied, Thomas yelled "Talk to me, Teresa."

_"First off, you are on restriction from my inner Lamborghini."_ both Stiles and Derek look at each other at what the girl said.

Thomas groaned internally as he looked at his dads, his hands finally gripping the box, "Uh, Teresa-

_"I mean it. This high-performance engine may purr like a puma on the prowl,"_ Stiles bites his lips, trying not to laugh, _"but this time, Tom, you have seriously overheated my engines,"_ Derek raises an eyebrow, looking at his son, _"and I will require some cool-down laps upon our reunion, if you know what I mean by that."_

"Teresa, you're on speaker." said Thomas as he putted the box on the floor, scratching the back of his head.

He knew the girl must had a neutral face, lips tight not knowing how to answer due embarrassment, _"I knew that."_ Thomas passed the box to his dad and they leaved his room. He closed the door and grabbed his phone, _"Who heard me?"_

"My dads." he answered as he climbed onto bed again.

A dead silence was what he got.  He shook his head and chuckled, _"You are dead to me, Tom. You hear me? Dead. To think you didn't warned me!"_

"I tried-

_"You didn't tried enough!"_ he heard some rustling and then steps. She must be going downstairs. Then he heard the door of the fridge opening and a liquid being poured.

"Put the lid on and put it back at the fridge before drinking, Teresa, or you'll leave it outside all night."

_"How did you knew I was having juice?"_

"Because you always do that when you're exasperated. And you always leave it outside."

_"You just get me."_

"Well, I need to go and pick up some clothes for dinner. Call you tomorrow?"

_"You better. Bye! Have fun!"_ she hang up. Thomas leaved his phone over the bed and stood up, going towards his closet. He still had a little time. Maybe first a little nap and then change clothes. He threw himself back at the bed.

 

* * *

 

Just an hour before the dinner at the Reed house, Andrew was finishing brushing his teeth as Allison was going down the stairs and towards the kitchen. She was fully dressed and she only needed her phone; she grabbed it from over the counter and looked at the blonde sitting over the couch, looking at the window.

She sighed and walked towards him, "Hey. You sure you want to come?"

Newt looks at his mom, "Why do you ask?"

"I don't want you to go because we want to; I want you to go because you feel like it."

Newt let out a sigh, "I just miss home." he said touching the window.

She caresses his arm, "I know you do. But you'll like it here. Just try it, please? For me?" she puts on a puppy face and the blonde groans. She smiles and goes to the kitchen again, "You know, it surprised me when you came home with Thomas. Out of all people, it was him you met first."

She grabbed a glass of water and drank. She then walked back to the couch, "I used to put you on Skype when you were a baby and Scott used to put Thomas when he was babysitting him. We would blabber about how cute you were. Then, one time when you were a little older, maybe 5 or 6 years, you tried to connect the camera by yourself."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I asked you why and you answered me, 'he told me he was going to show me the whole sky with stars'." she smiled, "I thought it was cute." Newt looked at her again. She chuckles, "I remember once... You said that Thomas would be your husband-

_"Mom!"_ the blonde's face was all red.

"What? I didn't said it, you did!"

"Please don't say that tonight!"

"I don't know. Maybe you should come to prevent it. You know how us old people tend to forget about those little things, and how our tongues have own minds."

Newt rolls his eyes and nods at the brunet. Allison smiles at him and kisses his forehead.

 

* * *

 

At the Hale (Peter & Lydia) house, Peter was waiting downstairs with the twins for the two girls to finish dressing. The twins were at the fridge, grabbing scoops of icecream while Peter didn't saw them.

He looks at the twins and then at his watch. He looks back at the twins and frowns, "Hey, hey! What did I just told you? No dessert, we're going to eat out." he said taking away the ice cream as the twins ran to the living room. He closes it and puts it back at the fridge.

_"What'd you think?"_ said a voice behind him, coming down the stairs.

Peter turned back at Lydia, who was wearing a short navy blue dress and black heels, "You look beautiful with anything you wear."

"I know, I just wanted to be told." he rolls his eyes and gives her the car keys.

"Where's Malia?"

Lydia wiped the ice cream from the twins face's and said, "Well, I told her an hour ago to change clothes. I thought she was already here."

Peter frowns and they both go upstairs, right to Malia's bedroom. Peter approaches the door and clears his throat, "Malia." he knocks on the door, "I thought your mother told you to get ready, we're leaving." he tries to open the door but can't. He looks at Lydia and then at the door, "Malia, we're going to be late."

As Peter tries to turn around the knob, Malia says _"I'm not hungry."_

He knocks on the door harder, "You'll come out, young lady or I'll... I'll... I'll break down the door!" Lydia rolls her eyes. Typical Peter.

_"Be my guest."_ Typical Malia.

"Peter," Lydia grabs his arm, catching his attention, "Maybe you shouldn't be all 'I'm going to break down the door, hear me roar' and stuff. You have to be gentle."

"But she is being so _DIFFICULT_." he yells the last part at the door.

"Gently, gently."

He takes a deep breath and frowning with a soft voice he says "Will you come down to dinner?"

_"No!"_

Peter points at the door, looking at Lydia. Lydia sighed, "Suave, genteel."

Peter swallows all his pride and breaths deep, "Malia, it would give me great pleasure as a father... if you would join us for dinner."

"And we say _'please'_." says Lydia coughing, looking up.

Peter looks at her and then at the door, "Please." he girths his teeth.

_"No, thank you."_

"You can't stay in there forever!"

_"Yes, I can."_

"Fine! Then go ahead and starve!" Peter goes down the stairs.

Lydia rolls her eyes and sighs. She leans over the wall near the door and gently with one hand she knocks on the door again, "Malia, honey, You don't have to go if you don't want to, but it'll make me so happy if you did." she waits for a moment, "And there's gonna be deer." a few more seconds and the door opens, revealing Malia fully dressed.

"Just so you know, I would've come out just with the 'it'll make me so happy'."

Lydia combs her hair with her hands, "Yes, I know. Now come on."

 

* * *

 

Three cars parked at the parking lot of a very big and distinguished restaurant. Lydia had chose it. Peter, Lydia, Malia and the twins came out of the first car. Stiles, Derek, Thomas, Scott, Isaac, and the twins came out of the second one. They had decided on going in the same car. And at last, Allison, Andrew and Newt came out. They all walked towards each group, finally reuniting at the center. Lydia and Allison waiting for nothing to hug, saying how beautiful the other one looked and how much they had missed each other. They had seen each other no more than 7 months ago, though. When they separate, she went and hugged Scott. Andrew shook hands with Peter, Derek and Isaac as he waved at the kids. As they separated, Scott's eyes were caught by the blonde teen standing awkwardly near his father.

"Oh my god, is that little Newt?" asked Scott, "The cute little blonde kid whom Allison putted on Skype? Hi, I'm your Uncle Scott. You remember me?" the blonde nods.

"You probably don't remember me." says Lydia walking towards him.

Newt smiled, "Aunt Lydia, of course I do. I've heard so much about you."

" _Oww_." she hugs him, "All bad, I hope."

The blonde chuckles as they separate, "Yes."

Andrew smiles at Allison and then looks at the gang, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's eat!"

They entered the restaurant and Thomas could swore he saw the waiter swallow hard when he saw the big group entering the building. Well, it was just family. Once they were walked towards their table, a big one by the way, they all sat and started looking at the menu. After a few minutes of looking at it, they each told the waiter their orders and as he leaved, they decided to catch up. Thomas's eyes would occasionally look at the blonde, who would notice him staring and wave slowly at him. Andrew and Allison were doing great at their jobs. Allison had become a Real estate agent, which she loved. She started telling them funny stories of the people coming to see houses and they started laughing. I mean, who asked if they allowed bears into a residence? Even if it was just the baby and the mom!

Because they were big group, their meal was served in parts. Either way, they continued to talk while eating. Lydia asked about Allison's parents, and also about Andrews'. Their laughs might have bothered some people eating there too, but who cared. This was quality time with family and friends.

After finishing eating, Max and Alex approached the desserts table and started picking their desserts. Alex glanced back at their table and looked at Newt, who covered his face laughing as they continued telling a story of Thomas, who groaned closing his eyes.

She grabbed a cupcake and looked at her twin. She cleared her throat, "¿ _Que piensas de el?_ "

He looks back, " _No lo se. ¿Y tu?_ " he nudges her side, moving his eyebrows suggestively.

She swats away his arm and frowns, making him chuckle, " _Dejame!_ "

In that moment they are approached by Scott, who stands beside them acting like normal, "Oh, hey, you guys know the rules. _No se habla en español para hablar mal de la gente_." he said as he grabbed a brownie and put it over his plate. He smiled at them. Max made an 'okay' gesture at him, "Ah, very good." they chuckled. Scott pats their shoulders, "Come on." and they walk back at the table.

As they sat back, they heard Stiles telling another story, "-And then he tried to close his window because it was too cold, but he had forgotten the lock was on." they continued to laugh, "And when he turned around, Malia took the lock off-" Newt covered his mouth form laughter, knowing what was going to happen, "And Thomas grabbed the window and shut it down with all his force! And his hand was crushed by the window!" everyone in the table erupted in laughter, even Thomas, though his was by embarrassment.

"Hey, I was 8! And Malia didn't had to take off the lock. She could've just told me."

"And where's the fun in that?" asked the girl as she took a sip from her water.

Stiles shook his head while smiling, calming down a little he said "We need to do this more often. But without the kids."

_"Hey!"_ said all the teens protesting.

"Kidding!" he winks at Allison, who chuckles at that.

Coughing to get everyone's attention, Isaac raised his glass, everybody doing the same, " _Cent'anni_. May you live 100 years."

"Cheers for that!" everyone began clinking their glasses with each other, smiling and laughing.

Thomas stood up and went towards the desserts table; he grabbed a brownie and glanced behind his shoulder back at the table. His whole family smiling, talking to each other; the twins eating their desserts while the other devil twins finished eating their meal. Malia talking to Peter, pointing at his glass of wine. He smirked and said 'no'. She must have asked him if she could have a sip. He wasn't stupid, Lydia was beside him and she could kill him.

Allison and Andrew were talking to Lydia, Stiles and Derek. Scott and Isaac whispering things between the other and smiling, before joining the conversation. His eyes finally fell on Newt, who was looking around the place and then behind his back. Thomas grabbed another brownie and sat back at the table. He pushed the brownie at the other side of the table until it was in front of Newt. Newt looked back at him and at the brownie, then smiled at Thomas before accepting the dessert, and started talking with him. This was sure the best night ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter! I'm so happy!  
> For those who don't understand Spanish, or the translator isn't really good, here is what it says:  
> "What'd you think of him?"  
> "I don't know. And you?"  
> "Leave me alone!" or "Enough!"  
> "You can't speak in spanish to talk bad about someone else."
> 
> Leave a review telling me what'd you think, and remember kudos are accepted too!~


	3. Bad Reputation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter. Ughh!! My laptop failed me and I couldn't work on this chapter! But finally I finished it.

At the McCall-Lahey house, Scott and Isaac were making breakfast over the kitchen when Max entered the room, backpack on hand.

Scott looked at him and kissed his temple, but noticed the girl wasn't there, "Where's Alex?"

"Oh, she's still in the bathroom." said Max pointing the stairs.

 _"Alex, come on! Let's go!"_ yelled Scott, moving the scrambled eggs as Isaac served juice. Max went to open the fridge and took out the milk carton; he then went to grab a glass and poured some milk in it.

Alex comes from the hall and enters the kitchen, her hair still wet, "I didn't have time to do my hair."

Scott is putting the dishes over the table, "Well, it's too late now, sweetie."

She looks at the clock and back at her dad, "We still have 15 minutes."

"No, no, no. You guys have to walk to school today. We have a thing." he points with his head at the table as he grabs the toasts from the toaster and flips the eggs,  "Come one. Come eat."

Alex grabs her hair, "I'm not going to school with my hair like this." Scott pats the chair and Alex huffs, "Great. I get to spend all day looking like a Poodle." she sits down.

Max turns to her and grabs the bacon, swinging it over her face, "You want a treat? _Good girl_."

Isaac pats his shoulder, "Enough." and goes to the fridge. Max and Alex look at each other and take out their tongues at the same time.

Scott and Isaac glanced at each other and smiled. _Teenagers._

 

* * *

 

Once classes started over school, Thomas was on his chair at the Geography class together with Minho. The teacher was over the board, writing something while explaining it to the students when the door opened. A petite woman entered and approached the teacher, whispering something to him and then looking at the class. The teacher nodded and cleared his throat, catching the students attention.

Thomas felt himself smile when seeing the petite woman move aside and letting Newt enter the classroom, backpack over his shoulder and looking around at the room.

"Alright, class. This is our new student; he's from England. Please welcome Newton Reed." students began whispering; some were saying how cute he was, some how cool that he was from England, "Okay. Where could you sit? Aha! There's one free seat beside Mr. Lee." he said pointing at Minho, "Go and sit there."

Newt nodded and went there. He sat beside Minho, who had behind him Thomas. Minho lose no time and extended a hand to the blonde, "My name's Minho."

"Newt." he said, accepting his hand.

"So, you're the one who's been driving crazy this guy all weekend?" he asked, pointing at Thomas behind him.

The brunet's eyes widen and he quickly kicked the Asian's leg, gaining a yell from him.

_"Argh! What the hell-_

"Is something wrong, Mr. Lee?" asked the teacher.

"No. Just a bee." the teacher nodded and continued writing on the board. Minho glared at Thomas, who just said he was stretching his legs and accidentally he kicked him. Thomas knew it was bullshit. So did Minho. And the brunet as pretty sure Newt did too.

 

* * *

 

"Wow, that teacher really loves his assignment." said Newt as they exited the classroom.

"Yeah, I know. But that's a good thing. Because if the one who's teaching us doesn't like them then why would we had to?"

"That's a good point." he chuckled and looked around, "And Minho? I thought he was right behind us."

"Probably with his girlfriend. We should grab our things."

They walked towards the brunet's locker and Newt waited until he had his books. Then they went to the blonde's locker, which wasn't so far from Thomas's.

"What do you have next?"

"Uh..." Newt grabbed a paper from his pocket and read it, "Art. Cool." he smiled.

Thomas in the other hand groaned, "Ugh, I have Econ." he noticed the blonde chuckle, "Don't laugh. When you get Econ, I'm going to laugh at you." Newt raised his hands while saying 'chill, dude', making the other laugh.

_"Mr. Hale."_

When hearing his name, Thomas turned around and saw a tall, blonde woman with green eyes, wearing a white plain shirt and white pants. She was vice-principal Ava Paige.

"Yes, Mrs. Paige?"

"I've see you already met Mr. Reed here." she said looking at the blonde, who waved at her, "I'm sure you'll show Mr. Reed the facilities?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'll do it."

She smiled, "Good. Now if you excuse me..." she nodded at them and continued walking through the

"Who was she?"

"She's the vice principal. Don't worry, she harmless. Sometimes strict, but good person. The one you have to take care of is-

_"Mr. Hale."_

Thomas stiffed at hearing that voice behind him, knowing to whom it belong. He with Newt turned and in front of them was a thin man with gray hair, a mole on his cheek, wearing a grey jacket with a black shirt.

"Yes?"

"Yes, _what_?"

The brunet bite the inside of his cheek, "Yes, principal Janson?"

"Good boy." he looked at Newt, "Mr. Reed, I hope you're not planning in becoming Mr. Hale's friend. He will be a bad influence on you."

Newt glanced quickly at Thomas and back at the man, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Well, now if you excuse me, I have important things to do in this moment." he looks between them, "Gentlemen." and leaves, walking down the hall.

Thomas sighs, "Sorry. He's a jerk."

"It's okay. I've treated with those before."

Thomas still has his eyes down the hall even though the principal wasn't there anymore. _God, how he hated that guy!_ He's such a pain in the ass. Especially Thomas's ass. It's like he liked to mess with him once he gets a chance to do so. The brunet shakes his head and looks at Newt, "So, listen." he clears his throat, "I was thinking that maybe after school we could go for a coffee. I don't know if Minho's willing to come with us since he'll probably be with his girlfriend, but maybe we could go and... you know, talk about stuff and I could tell you how to avoid Janson and-"

He stopped talking when the blonde raised a hand, "I don't wanna be rude since you're being nice to me." he clears his throat, "Look, I've heard things about you."

Thomas grins for a moment, "Really? Like what?"

"Like how good you are kissing. And a great runner. But also how you like to be with a girl and then, when it starts turning into something serious, you end things with them and go find another one." Thomas's smile falls, "I admit you're sexy... what sexy? I mean _hot_. But what I'm really looking for is a relationship and not just a one night-stand." the brunet is looking at the floor, "What am I saying." he chuckled, shaking his head, "I don't suppose you could change the way you are just because of one person. Especially someone like me." the last part he said it like a whisper.

In that moment the bell rings and students begin leaving, entering their classrooms.

"I'll better be going. See you around."

Thomas just watches him leaving, walking through the hallway and disappearing into a classroom. He could change. He was sure he could, and for someone like Newt, he swore he would. But now he was running late for Econ. He ran towards his class. This wasn't the way to start changing.

 

* * *

 

Malia was pulling her car at the convenience store, closing the door as she walked towards the entrance. Her two last classes were cancelled; their teacher got the flu and couldn't assist today, so they send back the students. Kira needed to go with her mom to do some shopping, but promised Malia to call her back once she finished. Malia, on the other side, decided to go back at her house and relax a little. But first she was craving for some snacks so she went to the nearest convenience store.

Once inside she grabbed a few chips, some Reese's for her mom, a package of gum for the twins and one for herself and a bottle of Canada Dry Ginger Ale -her favorite-. She eyed the mini chocolate cake but decided to buy it when Kira came over. Once she had everything she needed, she walked towards the counter. The cashier smiled at her and charged the food, putting it all inside a plastic bag. Malia gave her the money and told her to keep the change.

The cashier smiled at her once again while handing over the bag, "Thank you for buying in here!"

"Thanks." she grabbed her bag and walked out through the doors, walking towards her car. Just as she was taking her car keys out, she heard a voice behind her.

_"Hey! Wait up!"_

Malia turned around and saw a young man walking towards her. He had dark brown hair and green eyes; he was wearing a plain green shirt which made his eyes look brighter and black jeans.

"You forgot this." he said holding out a pair of keys. Her house keys.

"Oh, shi-- I can't believe I almost leaved them." she takes them, giving him a half smile, "Thanks. These are my house keys, without then I'll probably stay outside."

"It's okay. I once leaved my cell phone in a coffee shop. Took me a week on finding it." he chuckled, "I just, saw you leaving and noticed the keys. I mean, I know the cashier lady would have probably keep it until you came back, but... you know."

"Yeah, thanks anyways, umm--" she pursed her lips, tilting her head.

The guy seemed to understand as he smiled and offered his hand, "I'm Parrish."

"Really?"

"Well, Parrish is my last name, but everybody calls me that way."

She accepted his hand, "Malia."

"Malia." he repeated.

They let go of each others hand and Malia putted away a strand of hair, "Umm, I should really be going." she said pointing at her car.

"Yeah, yeah. Totally."

She smiled and turned around, walking towards her car and opening the door. She entered the car and looked at Parrish through the windshield, waving at her. Without waving back she started her car and drive back to her house, just peeking a little at her rearview.

 

* * *

 

Back with Thomas at school, just as classes finished with the bell ringing and students flood the halls, Thomas went to his locker and pulled out a green hoodie and closed the door. Minho was exiting the classroom together with Newt, telling him some story about the Maths teacher involving a cat. Oh right. The time a girl brought her cat to school so he wouldn't be alone at home and nobody, even the teacher, could concentrate in the class. He smiled as he watched Newt laughing, muttering an 'oh my god, that's so cute!' while walking towards the brunet. Being the best friend you could ever have, Minho noticed the distant look on Thomas's face and decided to act.

"Hey, okay. See that blonde girl over there?" he asked pointing at his girlfriend at the end of the hall, "She's my girlfriend Sonya. Why don't you go over there and say hi to her?"

Newt shrugged, "Okay." and with that he walked towards the two girls, one of them leaving afterwards. Newt said hi and she waved at him, smiling. He pointed at his back, obviously at the boys and her smile grew. Then the girl hugged Newt, and they could hear the 'you're so cute!' and 'I love your accent!' coming from Sonya.

She pulled him towards a group of girls and they did the same; smiling and hugging him, caressing his hair. Sonya sent a kiss to Minho, who did the same as he chuckled.

"You did that on purpose, right?" asked Thomas beside him.

"Yeah, but I think he might get killed by one of those girls. They sure think he's cute." he grinned, "And what about you, Romeo? What'd you think?" he obviously knew the answer. Thomas had told him that on the weekend.

Thomas stares at the blonde, who was talking with a red haired girl and then laughed at something she said, tucking a strand of hair behind his hear.

"Our babies will be smart and beautiful."

Minho looks at him, "Not to mention imaginary." he pats the brunet's shoulder, gaining his attention, "Dude, he already stated that he doesn't want to have anything with you because of your reputation."

Thomas's smile turns into a grin, "Then all I have to do is change it."

"Oh, no. I know that look. You have a little imp on your face." he said pointing at the curve of the brunet's mouth. And he was right. Thomas was going to change for good. For Newt.

 

 

 

Not so far from there, at the airport exactly, a suitcase wheels were rolling over the floor of the airport, a pale hand grabbing the support while passing by the waiting room. Once that person arrived at the entrance and crossed it, the wind blew over her black long hair. She putted a hand over her hair to comb it and then continued walking outside the building and towards a taxi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so Malias' "Kira" is the daughter of the original Kira. She's identical to her mother, even the same name (not too much imagination) and she's Malia's best friend. I hope I didn't confused you with that. To Amethystia, yes, I would love it if you helped me with the grammatical errors.
> 
> Who is that mysterious person at the end? Will she be important? You'll have to wait for the next chapter so found out.


	4. (Ain't No) Hollaback Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank and dedicate this chapter to my beta @Amethystia ; thank you so much for the help! And remember people, kudos and feedback are welcomed!

Early in the morning, school was about to start in just a few more minutes. Thomas was taking out his books from his locker when Minho approached him.

"So, have you thought about what to do with Newt? How are you going to sweep him off his feet?"

 _'I'm working on it.'_ he wanted to say, but instead, "I'm not really so sure about that." came out.

" _What?!_ Are you kidding me?" the Asian boy slams the locker door, "You're Thomas _freakin'_ Hale, you are not giving up."

"He already said he wasn't interested."

"And when has that ever stopped you? Besides, didn't he said he wasn't interested because of your attitude? Your reputation?"

He knew Minho was right. He had decided to change for Newt, but the truth was... he was afraid. Afraid that even if he changed, the blonde wouldn't want to be with him. Maybe they could stay as friends instead. Yeah, there's nothing wrong in that. He wouldn't have to lose him if things didn't go well.

 _"Talking about the Queen of England."_ said Minho in between coughs. Thomas turned his head and saw Newt approaching them, wearing a red sleeve shirt with black, tight skinny jeans. _Why, God, why?_ _Those legs weren't the ones of a friend. Those legs were the ones your lover had and Thomas now knows the blonde can't be only his friend._

"Hey."

"Hey." he managed to breathe out.

"I would say 'hey' but I don't want to be the third wheel." Thomas nudged him on the ribs, "Not a morning person, I forgot." it was worth it cuz it made the blonde chuckle.

"How is it going?"

Newt shrugged, "I can't complain. This place is pretty nice and so are people."

Minho snorted, "Nice? You won't believe what happened to me yesterday at work." he cleared his throat, "Okay, so I was being the perfect barista, as always, and then this lady comes with her four kids. _Four kids!_ And I thought 'aw, they're so cute' and then one of them kicked me in _shin_!" both Newt and Thomas laughed, "You hear me? _In.the.shin_!"

Thomas was distracted when his phone vibrated. He glanced at Minho, "And his mom just said 'no, honey. don't do that' and continued ordering! I wanted to kill that little devil!" and took out his phone, looking at the message he received,

**_'Where are you and what are you wearing?' - Teresa._ **

The brunet chuckled and rolled his eyes, **_'I'm at school. Getting my books out of the locker before my next class and I'm not telling you.'_**

**_'Where was your locker again?' - Teresa._ **

Thomas frowned but told her anyway. He putted away his phone to open his locker, still hearing what Minho was saying. What was he saying now? No idea. His eyes lingered on the blonde, who also seemed to be hearing him.

_"Thomas?"_

He heard a voice behind him. Thomas turned around and at the end of the hall, there was a dark haired girl, same age as them, pale skin and holding a bag on over her shoulders, looking right at Thomas.

"Teresa?" the brunet's eyes widen in delight and ran towards the girl, engulfing her into a hug and swirling her around, gaining laughs from the girl and stares from the students passing by. Newt frowned, not understanding anything. The brunet looked so happy at seeing that girl. Was she his girlfriend-

"Don't worry. She's not his girlfriend." said Minho beside him, "He wouldn't have one without me knowing. Besides I think I know who she is."

"Guys! Guys!" they heard Thomas yelling as he walked towards them, the girl beside him, "I can't believe it! You remember Teresa, right Min? I told you about her."

"Oh, yeah." he waved at her, "Hi."

"Hi."

"Newt, this is my best friend-" Minho coughed, "My best _female_ friend, Teresa. Teresa, he's Newt."

Newt looked at her. She had stunning blue eyes that pierced right through him. She had fair pale skin and hair as dark as the night. She was beautiful, if he could say it.

"Hi." she said to him, extending her hand. Newt did the same.

"Hi."

Thomas then turned towards her, ignoring everything and everyone else, "What are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming to visit?"

"And who said I'm here to visit?"

Thomas's eyes widen for second time, "You're staying?!"

She nods, biting her lips, "Aha! My parents allowed me to stay here. I just need to find a job and keep my grades up."

"And a place to live? Because you know I still have a guest room at my house-

"Hold on your panties, Tom. I already have seen apartments and my parents are going to pay for it. They already have. You thought I'd come here without having a place to stay?" she put a hand over her chest, looking offended. The bell rang, interrupting their conversation.

"What class do you have now?"

"Umm..." she checked her schedule, "Algebra."

"Me too! Come on! You don't want to be late on your first day." he closed his locker and pulled the girl by the hand, running towards their classroom. She just laughed, waving at the others and allowing Thomas to pull her.

Newt stood there, watching him disappear down the hallway. He was shaken out of his thoughts by someone nudging him in his side.

"Come on, we have History." said Minho, nodding his head to the other hallway. Newt nodded and they went to History class.

 

* * *

 

In Algebra class, Thomas and Teresa sat together, just like when they were little. He sat on the left and she on the right, near the back of the classroom. As the teacher wrote something on the board, Teresa tapped the notebook with her pen, looking at the brunet.

"So... Newt?"

"Please, not now, Teresa."

"Oh, come on. I'm not going to tease you about it."

He sighed, "Thanks."

"I was thinking maybe…”

Thomas groaned as he let his head fall onto the desk, _"Teresa!"_ he muttered.

"Tom, it's all right. It's normal to feel that way. And by seeing Newt, I think you chose well."

"But he just wants us to be friends!" she rolls her eyes. Thomas leans over the desk so the teacher doesn't see him, "No, literally. I was asking him out for a coffee and he turned me down. My reputation precedes me."

"And whose fault is that?"

"I know, I know." he sighs, "What should I do?"

"I have three words: _Don't give up_." and then she looked back at the board, writing down the formulas the teacher had written. Thomas stares at the wall, Teresa's words echoing in his head.

 

* * *

 

"Here's your bill, sir. Come back soon." said Malia as she gave the man sitting at a table the bill, smiling slightly at him. The man paid and left his usual tip for Malia. While he left she smiled saying, "Thank you!"

"He wants to marry you."

Malia rolled her eyes, "Hush it, Kira." she was currently on her shift at a small restaurant. Her shift was one hour after school, so every time she left from school she went to work, and then to her house. Or Kira's. Normal routine.

Kira chuckled, wiping the table where family had been seated, "I mean it. Every time he comes he sits at the usual table and orders the exact same thing, he asks for you to be his waitress and when he leaves he gives you a generous tip. He wants you."

"Gross. He must be the same age my dad is."

"What? Your dad is kind of hot for his age."

"You did not just said that." Malia kneeled and picked up a cat plush a little girl had dropped, giving it back to the girl while rustling her hair, "Here you go." she said with a smile and walked away towards the counter, "Besides, I'm not interest right now. You know that."

The clock over the wall rang while marking the shift was over. Malia looked at the clock and grinned.

"And that's my cue. I'm off for today." she said while taking off her apron. She went towards her bag and putted the apron inside, "Okay, I'm going, Kira."

The Asian girl turned towards her and smiled, "See you at the movies?"

"Sure."

Malia took off, exiting the restaurant as the Asian girl waved at her. She walked towards the nearest store, where she usually parked her car. The owner let her park her car while she was at work. Sweet lady. She was taking out her car keys when she noticed someone near her car. She chuckled when seeing who it was.

"Hey."

Parrish turned to look at her, phone on hand, "Oh, hey." he putted the phone inside his pocket, "How you've been?" he asked while approaching her.

"Fine. You?"

He shrugged, "I can't complain." he stopped at the sidewalk while Malia stepped off, going towards her car. She stops for a moment and turns to look at him.

"Are you... are you following me?"

Parrish looks around, "Umm, no. I thought this was a free country and we could do whatever we wanted."

Malia enters her car, "It is. I just..."

"Just, what?"

She stares at him, "Nothing." and starts her car, "I'll see you later."

"Who's following who know?" he teased, making the girl chuckle.

She starts to pull out but she's blocked by another sports car, which pulls up perpendicular to her rear and parks. A tall guy with black hair emerges and heads for the store, ignoring Malia.

Malia girths her teeth, "Hey!" he turns around, "Do you mind?"

He grins at her, "Not at all." and continues on into the store. Malia stares at him in disbelief; she then backs up fast, her fenders crash into the door of the guy's car.

Parrish watches with a delighted grin at Malia as the guy races back to his car, "You bitch!" he kneels beside his car, looking at the damages. Even though Parrish covers his mouth, he chuckles a little.

Malia looks at the boy whining over his car and lets out a chuckle, then she sarcastically pouts, "Whoops."

 

* * *

 

 _"'Whoops?'"_ Malia was lying on the couch reading a magazine over her house after the accident. She frowns and looks up, looking at Peter. "My insurance does not cover P.M.S.!"

"It's not my fault that guy was a jerk." she says while she sits.

"No, but it is your fault acting they way you did." he points upstairs, "You're grounded. Go to your room."

"But Kira and I were going to go to the movies tonight. I asked you a week ago and you said yes."

"That was before you crashed your car."

Malia stands up, "That's unfair! You promised!"

"You're not going, Malia. You're grounded."

"This is ridiculous. I'm going." she started walking towards the stairs.

"No, you're not."

She stops and turns to him, "Yes, I'm going!"

"No, you're not!"

_"WHY?!"_

_"BECAUSE. I. SAY. SO."_

She huffs angry and runs upstairs, stomping her feet while yelling _"I want to turn 19 already, so I can go to college and leave the house!"_ she shuts the door.

Peter sighs and let himself fall in the couch, his head leaned back as he closes his eyes. He feels a pair of hands touching his cheeks and then his neck, "Remember when she used to beg you to give her piggy-backs until you couldn't walk?" asked Lydia.

"Glorious days." he opens his eyes and looks at his wife. She smiles and gives him a small kiss.

"Don't worry. She'll get over it."

Without them noticing, Malia was on the phone with Kira, watching them from the top of the stairs.

Malia sighs, "I think they want to make me go crazy."

_"It sucks that you're grounded. But maybe we can go other day. Although it's the last day we can watch the movie since they're taking it off the cinema-"_

"Don't worry." she grins, "Oh, no. Wait for me at the store, I'll be there." she hangs up and closes the door of her bedroom.

 

* * *

 

An hour later Lydia was pacing around the kitchen, cutting here, moving the frying pan over there, flavoring the meal. She looked at the clock on the wall and took of her apron, putting it over the counter. She glanced at her husband over the living room, sitting on the couch reading something from his laptop. Work, she thought. She bit her lip.

"It's almost dinner time."

He nodded, his eyes still glued to the screen, "Yes, I know."

Lydia sighs and walks towards him, "It's almost dinner time and she hasn't come out of her room, Peter. Maybe she's upset."

"Maybe she's not hungry." he types something, "Maybe she's asleep. Or listening to music to ignore us or watching a movie, we don't know for-" he cuts off his sentence, looking away from the laptop and in the nothing.

His eyes light and glares at the stairs, "Oh no, _she didn't_ \- She didn't." he walks towards the stairs and climbs them, Lydia behind him. He approached the door of Malia's room and knocked a few times, waiting at least for the 'I'm not in the mood' she always said. Nothing came. Maybe she was in the bathroom? No, she would still hear him. There was no way she had- No. Not on my watch. Gripping the knob he opens the door and looks around the empty room, no signs of Malia.

 _"She did!"_ Lydia can see the veins popping over Peter's temple, "She is dead, worse than dead. She will spend the next year in a phoneless, dateless, Amish existence!"

"Peter, she's already like that."

"Then she won't be surprised at all!" they both exit the room, closing the door behind them.

 

* * *

 

At the Hale (Thomas') house, Stiles was sitting over the dining room with lots of gift wrap paper rolls, glitter, scissors, glue and more. It was his homework. He was looking for something on his computer when the bell rang. He stood up, removed his glasses and went to answer the door, finding Malia.

He smiles, "Hi, Malia." and moves aside for her to enter the house.

"Is Thomas here?"

"Um, no. He hasn't returned from school. I think he's with Minho. Why?"

"I wanted to ask him if he could drop me at the cinema later. You know, with your car since he doesn't have one." she walks towards the kitchen.

"And why can't you use your own car? Or your parent's?" he asks as he follows her to the kitchen, seeing as she grabs an apple and bites it.

"Um, my car is grounded. And I don't think I can borrow my parent's car; they must be looking for me right now."

"Why's that?"

"Because I escaped from my room when they told me I was grounded."

Stiles groaned, _"Malia."_

"It wasn't my fault! It was that guy's! He started!"

In that moment the bell rang and both heads turned towards the door. Goosebumps went through her body when she heard Lydia's voice.

"Please cover for me! I beg of you!"

"Why would-

"Remember that time when I was five and my dad wouldn't let me watch that horror movie because it was 'too scary', but you let me watch it without them knowing? I know mom won't be pleased in knowing that."

Stiles' eyes widen, "You wouldn't!"

"Try me."

Stiles looks back at the door and then at the girl; then back at the door and groans. He walks towards it while murmuring _'I can't believe this. Being blackmailed by my own niece in my own house'_. He sighed and opened the door, revealing Lydia and Peter. "Hey, you guys." he lets them enter.

"Stiles, I don't know if you're busy right now, but if you see-" she stops in her tracks when she sees her daughter sitting over the counter kitchen.

"Hey, mom."

"-Malia."

Peter glances at Stiles, "What's she doing here?"

"I asked her if she could come and help me with something from my work. Since Derek is still working and Thomas hasn't returned, I called her and asked her, almost pleaded for her help."

Peter and Lydia looked at each other and then at the girl over the kitchen, chewing a piece of apple.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"I told him I was grounded. But I figured if I couldn't go and meet Kira then I could do something productive." she nods her head towards them, "Like helping Uncle Stiles."

"And why did you leave the house from your window and not through the door?" asked Peter, not fully convinced.

"I was grounded, remember? I knew you wouldn't let me leave."

Lydia stares between Stiles and Malia, looking into their faces for any sign of lie. She moved her hand to her hip and said,

"Okay."

"Okay?" asked Peter and Malia.

"Okay." Malia smiled, "But go back home with your dad, I'll stay and help Stiles."

"Really?" she nodded. Malia shrugged, "Ok. Do as you want." she exited the kitchen and went towards the door, "Bye, Uncle Stiles."

"Bye. Thanks for the help." she waved back as she together with Peter left the house, closing the door behind them.

Lydia stared back at the brunet man, hitting him over the nape gaining a yelp from him, "Wha-

"Do you think I'm stupid, Stiles?" she raises her eyebrows, "Really, Stiles, _really_?"

"Sorry. She's like Satan with boots."

"I get it. Peter's basically Satan in a V-neck." she walked towards the table and sat, looking at the brunet, "Do you want my help or no?"

"Yes, please." he went and sat beside her, picking up his laptop and typing something.

Lydia frowned and looked around, "Where's Thomas, by the way?"

 

* * *

 

Thomas was at the park, sitting on a swing with his feet playing with the sand beneath it. He raised his head with a sigh and saw the people at the park; a mom with her baby in his stroller, a pair of kids running and laughing around the slide, two girls looking at a group of guys and chuckling every time they looked back at them, parents with their kids, and that kind of people.

_"Is this seat taken?"_

Thomas looked beside him at Stiles, who grimaced at him. He shook his head and watched as his pops took a seat beside him on the swing ([x](http://33.media.tumblr.com/68152166280cdfdf6f23e885599c99fa/tumblr_mjvn5ome1J1qbbseto1_500.gif)).

Thomas was looking at his feet when Stiles spoke, "So... care to tell me what's on your mind, buddy?"

A couple of seconds passed before the younger brunet spoke, "I... There's this person I like, but... they're not interested in me."

"Is she cute?"

Thomas thought of the blonde, closing his eyes while smiling, his beautiful smile and his sexy accent. He smiled to himself, "He is."

Stiles looked back at him with wide eyes after hearing the 'he'. Thomas could feel his pops eyes over him. _He obviously noticed the 'he'. I mean, that's what I said it, there's nothing to be worried about. Maybe he's surprised I told him so lightly._ Stiles gripped the straps of the swing and looked at the sky.

"He better be cute, cuz that's what you deserve." Thomas smiled at his pops, even chuckling a little. Of course that's how his pops would answer. The younger brunet looked at the sand as Stiles continued, "Well, maybe he's not the for you. Maybe the person for you is someone you won’t expect. After all, the most beautiful gift can come in the plainest box."

"But he is! I'm sure of it!" says Thomas standing up, and then sitting down again with a sigh.

Stiles began swinging slowly, like he didn't care that it wasn't normal to see a grown-up on a swing seat, "You know." he began, "When I was little, I used to have a crush on Lydia."

Thomas glanced at him, an eyebrow raised, "Really?"

"Yep. I used to say to your Uncle Scott, _'In 20 years, I guarantee you, I'll be Lydia's second husband'_."

Thomas frowns, "What happened to the first husband?"

" _'Nothing you can prove'_ , I would always answer." the younger brunet chuckles, "My point is, sometimes you think there's a person who is the right one, but turns out... there's another one."

"It's easy for you. You didn't have a problem like this, you liked dad and he liked you back. It was easy." Thomas stands up and walks away. Stiles stays there, looking at the sand beneath his feet.

 

* * *

 

Back at the Hale house, Thomas was sitting on the couch in the living room, playing with a baseball ball. He's throwing it at the floor and when it lifts up, he catches it mid air. Stiles and Lydia appear in the kitchen, looking at him as the ball hits his feet and rolls away. Thomas looks at it and sighs, leaning back against the couch.

Stiles whispers to her, "You got any ideas about what we're gonna do about this?"

She glances back at him, "Have you ever known me not have an idea?" he nods his head in a 'you're right' way, "Just, follow my lead." they begin walking towards the couch, and Lydia starts talking, "So, Stiles. Remember that time you wanted to ask that blonde girl out for prom?" she asked as she sat on the couch, right beside Thomas.

Stiles sat on the other side of Thomas, "Yeah. She said she wasn't interested."

"And what did I tell you?"

"You said, 'next time you're gonna ask someone out, don't wash your Jeep, wash your teeth'."

Lydia rolls her eyes, "After that."

"That if I really wanted to ask out anyone, I needed to keep on trying, not to give up so easily. I accepted her refusal because I thought that was it, the end. I was lucky I didn't give up on Derek." _'You were lucky Derek was into jailbait.'_ murmured the strawberry blonde woman, making the older brunet tickle her.

Lydia slightly nudges Thomas’ leg, _"So..."_

"So, if I want something bad enough, I should get off my butt and fight for it?" his pops nods while Lydia smiles. They were right. He needed to psych up and show Newt he really could change. Starting from tomorrow.

 

 

_"Fall seven times and stand up eight." –Japanese Proverb._


	5. I Want You to Want Me, Ok?

_"Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions." Dalai Lama._

 

Early in the morning over school on Monday, students were in the halls, taking their books and stuff out of their locker. Certain blonde was doing the same thing, with the dark-haired girl beside him. He hasn't seen Thomas this morning, which was strange. Teresa was already there, so where was the brunet? Maybe flirting with a girl. Newt frowned and closed his locker hard.

"Wow, what did the locker ever did to you?"

"Sorry, I- it slipped."

"Right." she chuckled. She glanced at their classroom, seeing how many guys approached the door. How come no one was already inside?

The students opened the door and some gasps were heard. Newt looked at the students entering the classroom and frowned.

"What's with them?" he asks looking at Teresa; the girl shrugged.

Newt walked towards the classroom and went through the door, his eyes widened as he looked inside the room. The room was filled with flowers that descended from the ceiling like a waterfall, too many beautiful colors of too many different flowers washing over the room ([x](https://36.media.tumblr.com/b5992d2f67b8af1fd596baf744e590c9/tumblr_njopjtjrZG1qzprlbo6_1280.png)). The person who did that must have taken hours in putting the flowers. Aside from that there were lilies, tons and tons of lilies around the room; some were in vases, some scattered over the teacher's desk. Lilies were his favorite flowers. He took the chance that everyone was distracted looking up at the flowers and walked towards his seat, picking up a white letter with a single rose.

A small smile appeared on his face and clutching the letter to his chest he sat on the chair, hearing then the teacher enter the classroom.

"What is this? I ain't gonna clean this, so you guys better not be allergic to flowers."

 

* * *

 

After the first class ended, Thomas was walking through the halls, looking for the black-haired girl. He wanted to hear what happened in the morning when Newt entered the classroom filled with flowers. He wished he could have seen his face. _What kind of face did he made? What did he think?_ Seeing Minho talking to some other guys, he approached his friend.

"Hey, Minho." they bump fists, "Have you seen Teresa?" the Asian guy points at the end of the hall, to where the lockers are, "Thanks." Thomas begins walking towards the lockers and he finds Teresa singing beside her locker. _Obviously_ , she had her headphones and was ignoring everything else. Thomas arrives behind her seeing her dancing and singing with her eyes closed, like nothing else mattered.

 

 _'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play_ \- He waves at her but she can't see him because of her closed eyes, so he shrugs it. He begins tapping with his feet at the melody she was singing and her rhythm; he swings his hips trying to follow hers and chuckles.

 _I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake_ \- She shakes her hips and hands and Thomas follows.

 _I shake it off, I shake it off_ -  Thomas joins her dancing, following her moves as she still doesn't notices him.

 

 _Heart-breakers gonna break, break, break, break, break_ \- At the same time both lean their heads to the front and at the back, and again. That made everybody on the hall look at them funnily. Thomas turns around and continues dancing by himself.

 _I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake_ \- Teresa keeps dancing until she turns around with her eyes open and she notices Thomas.

 _I shake it off, I shake it off_ \- She stops dancing, although the brunet keeps dancing on his own strange way.

 

Teresa chuckles and takes off her headphones, "Tom, what are you doing?" that startles him and he stops dancing, looking at Teresa smiling.

"Oh, hey."

The girl chuckles, "Hey." and continues taking her books out.

"I need a favor." she's about to say something when he continues, " _Please, Teresa!_ It's about Newt!"

"Why didn't you started with that?" she closes her locker, "Of course. What do you want to do?" they start walking away.

"First tell me what happened in the classroom."

"Well, I'm pretty sure he was in between flabbergasted and smitten. You did well, Tom."

"Really? Wasn't it too much?"

"It depends. How much time and money did you spend?" when he doesn't answers and looks at his feet, she got her answer, "You scum." she says with a smirk on her face.

"I couldn't help it! I wanted to do it. He deserves it."

"Well, where's _that_ attitude when I need something?"

"You aren't gonna give him _some_ if he does something like that. There's the why."

 _"Min!"_ says Thomas flustered at his newcomer friend, walking beside Teresa.

Teresa smiles, "Hey, you."

"Hey." he looks at the brunet, "So? What are you gonna do, Romeo? Write him a song? A poem? Built another Taj Mahal?"

"He's not going to write him a song, he's not that creative. Nor a poem either. And you really want to see him operate heavy machinery?"

"I hate you both, guys."

"You do not, you love us."

"No, I'm pretty sure I don't."

The bell rings and Thomas begins to hasten his steps, leaving his two friends behind. Minho glances back at Teresa, who is looking at him too, "He totally loves us."

"Totally."

 

* * *

 

After school ended, Thomas decided to go home straight, fighting with his desire to look for the blonde and ask what he thought about the flowers. At the Hale's house, Thomas was doing his homework on the dining table while Stiles was at the phone, pushing some buttons from the printer. He was holding the phone between his cheek and shoulder, while he tried to make the printer work.

Unsuccessfully he sighs and talks to the telephone, "I'm telling you this thing won't print." he rolls his eyes, "Yes, I pressed that button like a hundred times. You know, for a hot line you're not so hot." the younger brunet looks back at him, watching Stiles frown, "What... what is that in the background? _Are you watching Star Trek?!_ " Thomas snorts, shaking his head and continues doing his homework.

His mind was lost in thoughts, especially on a certain blond boy. On his soft hair. On his smile. Everything. What would be his next move? What could he do to impress him? Nothing too ostentatious, but it had to leave an impression. It had to make Newt accept to have a date with him. And if he succeeded and Newt said yes, what would he do next?

He heard the door opening and saw Derek entering the house. The older man looked at the two brunets as he closed the door behind him, approaching the living room and leaving his jacket on the couch. He patted Thomas's head and nodded at Stiles, who had his back at them. Thomas said something between 'he's talking to some hot line' and 'I think he's pissed off'.

"Okay, fine. It's no use." Stiles rolls his eyes, "Yeah, I'm canceling." he puts a hand over his hip, "Yeah, well, same to you, jerk!" he hangs up, huffing in anger. He then hits the machine with his hand.

"This is why we can't have nice things."

Stiles just holds up his finger as in a warning to his husband.

"What happened?"

"Pops got mad at the support line guys." said Thomas with a smirk.

"You better wipe that smirk from your face, young man." said Stiles, pointing at him. Then he looks at his partner, "And it's not my fault! It's theirs!"

Derek approaches him, "Stiles, sometimes I think that you don't have anything inside your head. Now come on," he grabs the brunet's head, "Let me see." he looks into Stiles' ear, turning his body a little, "Hey, that picture on the wall is crooked." he says pointing at the wall.

Stiles pouts and pushes the man aside as the dark haired man chuckles. The brunet crosses his arm in an attempt to look hurt and angry. He then uncrosses his arms and goes to the living room, flipping the cushions, "I know I shouldn't have cancelled and... call the guy a 'jerk', but I think what I did was the right thing. They couldn't help me with a simple thing, and I tried to reasoning with them. but-

_"You're wrong."_

Stiles stops what he's doing and glares at his partner in disbelief, whose arms where now crossed, "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Still with his arms crossed, Derek repeats "I said you were wrong."

"I'm right and you know it, Derek. Why can't you ever admit it? If you can't admit that I'm right then you're sleeping on the couch tonight."

Derek puts on his trademark smirk -which all of the Hales had-, "You're not right, and I'm definitely not sleeping on the couch." he said with a firm tone, looking at his partner who simply stares at him.

 

* * *

 

At the Hale (Malia's) house, the boys were at the kitchen; the twins sitting on the chairs over the counter and Peter waiting for the popcorn to come out of the microwave. It was their boys times. Just the three of them. Eating popcorn, ordering pizza and watching movies on the living room.

Malia ran downstairs and towards the kitchen, catching her breath as she talked, "Hurry! Mom's going to make you do house chores! She's got jobs for everyone! Now it's too late for me, but save yourselves!"

Peter, Aiden and Ethan ran scared towards the door, with Peter grabbing one of the twins as the other one opened the door for them to leave. Once the door shuts, Malia rolls her eyes and lets out a chuckle. Lydia comes downstairs with a big smile on her face.

"Did they fall for it?"

Malia crosses her arms, "They do every time."

"I'll get the popcorn, you turn on the DVD." they both giggle and go separate ways. Who said you couldn't have a moment of quite with three boys on the house?

 

* * *

 

Thomas sighed, putting away his Algebra book and leaning back on the chair of his desk. Who thought it was a good idea to mingle numbers _AND_ letters?! Gosh. He needed to drink something, his head hurt. He stood up and went downstairs, towards the kitchen. Stiles was there, making a mug of coffee in his pajamas.

"Hey,"

The older brunet turned around and smiled, "Hey," he grabbed the sugar, "What's up?"

"Nothing. Doing homework." he opened the fridge and grabbed the water jar, putting it on the table, "Felt a little thirsty."

As he poured the water on a glass, his pops spoke, "Don't stay up doing homework."

"I won't." he putted back the jar and drank the water, his eyes roaming over the kitchen, "And dad?"

Stiles grinned, "You know where he is."

Thomas tried not to roll his eyes and went to the living room. Yeah, there he was. Sitting on the couch, turning off the TV and putting the remote controller aside.

At seeing the younger brunet approaching him, Derek grinned, "Hey, kiddo."

"Hey," Thomas sat in front of him, "Listen, I wanted to tell you that this week I won't come right back at home after school."

"Why's that? Is everything okay?"

Thomas nodded, "It's nothing, I'll just be working a few extra shifts at work."

"What for?"

 _"Money."_ they both answered at the same time, the older man nodding.

It was true. He _did_ needed money. But not for things for himself, but for Newt. Maybe he could tell his dad that too. And ask about things. No, wait. Don't go there, Thomas. It would be too awkward to ask for his dad's advice in how to get a guy. Thomas shrugged. _Think about other thing, think about other thing!_

He scratched the back of his head, "Ugh, I still have too much homework. But luckily it's for next week."

"You better go upstairs and get some sleep."

Thomas nodded and went to the stairs, "Good night, dad." he said as went upstairs.

"G'night." Derek accommodated his pillow so he could lay his head above it. He was currently on the couch, wearing a white tank shirt and dark knee-length shorts, a royal blue blanket wrapped around his body and his typical grumpy face on. He stirs on the couch, his eyes closed and his back at the stairs.

The lights over the kitchen went off, and Stiles emerges from the kitchen with a mug of coffee, inhaling its aroma while looking at his partner, who had his back at him.

"I thought you said you weren't sleeping on the couch?" said Stiles with a shit-eating grin as he went upstairs, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Shut up, Stiles."

 

* * *

 

In the middle of the week, while Thomas took out his books from his locker, the blonde approached him.

"Hey,"

The brunet got startled but smiled afterwards, "Hey, how you doing?"

"Fine. A little too much Algebra but I can handle it." he raised his arm, "I'm tough stuff, you know." _yes you are._

_Okay, Thomas. It's now or never._

"So listen, umm," Thomas started, clearing his throat, "I was thinking... Maybe we could go and eat something... you know, together. Maybe coffee, or if you like tea better." his eyes widen, "Not that I think just because you're British that means you like tea, nothing like that! What I'm trying to say is... would you go out with me? On a date."

Newt smiled at him, "I would like that."

"It's okay if you don't want to, I just- _did you just said yes_?" his eyes widen more.

The blonde only rolled his eyes and turned his back at him, walking away and to his class. Thomas's eyes were still wide open, as if he could believe his ears. _He said yes. He.Said.Yes. YES!_

His eyes followed the blonde as he walked away and then they fell on the flower in his jeans back pocket. A rose. The same rose he had given to him on Monday together with the letter. Thomas punched the air with a goofy grin, gaining a few stares from the people passing by.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He said yes! Finally! Fiiuu~  
> The part were Thomas starts dancing with Teresa without her noticing until the end reminds me of a scene of Fresh Prince of Bel Air. When Will enters Ashley's room and sees her dancing and then joins. I even searched and someone made a vine with this song and that part: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRu3OT_X0Hw


	6. Date Night

Minho, Thomas and Teresa were sitting over the couch inside the coffee shop near school, relaxing and talking about stuff. More importantly, the brunet was talking about his concerns about certain blonde and the date.

Minho took a sip of his chai tea, looking at his best friend,

"So, what are you gonna do? Dinner at home? A movie? A walk through the park? Think about how many kids are you gonna have?"

The brunet sighed, "I don't know yet. I was thinking maybe taking him out for dinner at a restaurant or something like that, but I can't think about a place."

"Hey, I have a fantastic idea!" _Oh no_. "I can arrange a romantic dinner at the coffee shop! I'll even invite the coffee! But I have to tell my boss about it."

Thomas wrinkled his nose, "I'm not so sure-"

"Come on, Thomas! This is what I do for a living. I am a professional barista!" he glances at his watch and sees the time, "Oh, man, I'm two hours late for work!" he says chuckling but standing up, ready to go, "Just think about it, okay?" the brunet groans, looking away, "Okay?"

"Okay, okay! I'll think about it and _if_ I decide to take him out for dinner, I'll tell you."

The Asian boy nods, "Thank you." he sits down again, looking around nonchalantly.

The brunet stares at him, "Work, Min."

Minho looks at him and it dawns on him, he groans, _"Damn it!"_ he stands up and leaves running.

Thomas looked at the dark-haired girl, who was watching Minho running while rolling her eyes and chuckling. She took a bite of her scone, looking back at the brunet.

"So, what do you think?" he asked.

She whipped the corner of her mouth before talking, "Well, what is what you want. How exactly did you imagine it? Your date."

Thomas clasped his hands together, intertwining his fingers as he talked, "I don't know. Something nice. I mean, something not too extravagant," he missed the part where Teresa muttered 'says the same guy who filled an entire classroom with flowers', "It has to make a big impression to him, but without being too much. Maybe dinner at a nice restaurant? You know, I saved some money from work. Then we could go for a walk, talking about stuff, about us. And then I'll ask if we can have a second date. I'll be so happy if he says 'yes'." he nods at himself, looking at his friend, "I think that's it."

The corners of her mouth went up, "There you go."

Thomas thinks about if or a moment, a smile appears on his face, "I like it." he looks out the window and sees Minho talking to a girl, the girl chuckling at something he said, "Minho, for God's sake, _go to work!_ " he yells, making Minho look at him with wide eyes and run away, leaving the girl confused.

 

* * *

 

Stiles was over the kitchen making a phone call, ordering food. As he ended the call, he sat on the counter. Derek would arrive soon, and Thomas was still upstairs. He hadn't come down to see what we were gonna eat. He glanced at the clock and then upstairs. Almost 6 p.m. 'Maybe he's sleeping? I'll check on him.' He made up his mind and went upstairs, walking towards the younger brunet's room. He knocked three times and waited for a 'come in'; and when he heard it he entered his son's bedroom. Thomas was standing in the middle of the room, dressed in a buttoned blue shirt, jeans and shoes; his hair was a little messy, but it looked good in him.

"Hey, I thought you were sleeping. Where are you going all so handsome?"

The younger brunet gave him a smile and turned to the mirror, "I've got a date."

Stiles smiled, sitting on the edge of the bed, "Oh. Is it with the guy you told me?"

"Yeah."

"Well, good luck. I'm happy it ended well." he studied his son's movements, how he glanced back at the closet, obviously looking at the shirts; the older brunet grinned, "You look nervous."

The teen looked back at him, "Nervous? Well, kind of."

Stiles stood up, "So, who is he? Do I know him?" before he could say anything else, a song started playing,

 

_She wants to dance like Uma Thurman_

_Bury me till I confess_

_She wants to dance like Uma Thurman_

_And I can’t get you out of my head_

 

"Oh! My phone!" Thomas threw himself at his bed at the same time Stiles went outside, waving at his son. He let out a breath of relief and answered, "Teresa?"

_"Hey, Tom. Why do you sound out of breath?"_ before he could answer, he heard her gasp, " _Bad Tom! Bad Tom! You do not answer you phone when you're doing..._ _that."_

His eyes widen, "No, no! _No!_ The hell, Tere- _no!_ " he sits on his bed, "No! I threw myself at the bed to grab my phone! I swear!"

_"I know, Tom. I'm just teasing you."_ he could practically see her grinning. _"So, are you getting ready?"_

Thomas stands up and goes to his closet, "Yeah, but I'm kinda nervous. What if he doesn't like the place? The food? My shirt? Should I wear a jacket or no? And my hair-

_"Thomas! Thomas, chill!"_ he sighed, _"I know you're nervous, boy I feel nervous now, but it's going to be okay. He's going to love the restaurant, the food is delicious, and you look hot with a jacket. Trust me."_

He smiled as he looked at himself over the mirror. Teresa always knew what to say. "Thanks."

_"Well, I have to go. Don't forget to use protect-"_ Thomas threw his phone at his bed all flushed before his friend finished, then he putted a pillow over it. He looked again at the mirror and smiled. Everything was going to be alright.

 

* * *

 

At the Reed house, Newt was at his bedroom, coming out of the shower just a few minutes ago. He was standing beside his bed in only boxers, deciding which clothes he should wear. Maybe just jeans and a plain shirt. It was just a date. Normal date, no big deal. While he grabbed a black shirt, there was a knock on his door.

Allison entered the room, "Knock, knock. Sorry if I-" she notices him holding the shirt, "Oh. What's going on? Are you going out?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm going out with a friend." he put on the shirt and then grabbed his jeans. He didn't felt embarrassed at being half naked in front of his mother like most guys would be. But he did dressed.

"Really? Is it a date?"

_"Mom."_

"No, don't worry. I'm not going to be all _'oww, my baby is growing up'_ because that's not the type of mother I am, so..."

"Thanks."

"But my baby _is_ growing up!" she yelled as she hugged him, "And he's having a date! _Oww!_ Look at you, all flushed-

_"Mom!"_

She moved aside, "Yeah, sorry. Sorry." she chuckled, biting her lips while looking at her son. "So... is he cute? Do I know him? I mean, you haven't introduced me any of your friends."

"Mom."

"Yes, honey?"

"I need to change."

"Oh! Yeah, sorry! I'm going to- gonna-" she pointed at the door as she exited the room. The door barely closed when she opened it again and said "You look beautiful just the way you are." and closed it for good.

 

* * *

 

Newt was over the place Thomas had told him; it was a big, nice but not too fancy restaurant. He looked around and smiled, sitting comfortably over the chair on their table. Their table. No signs of the brunet; not that it was his fault. He may had been too nervous he accidentally came over 1 hour early. Dumb him. But it was okay. That way he wouldn't be late. As he waited, just ordering a glass of water, he wondered if today would rain. What if the brunet got caught in the rain? What if he couldn't make it? Newt shook his head, nonsense.

Almost two hours later, he saw a mop of brown hair appear over the door.  Thomas looked pretty good in those jeans, holding a bouquet with his right hand and looking around, his eyes finally falling over the blonde. A smile appeared on his face as he approached the table.

"Sorry I was late. She's been a bitch tonight! And by bitch I mean the traffic, it was really bad but I got you flowers to make up for it." he says while giving the blonde the bouquet.

"Oh, Thomas. You didn't have to-

"No, no. I did. It was the honorable thing to do; I should get you the gift for arriving so late."

Newt smiles and grabs the flowers, "Well, then I think I'll accept them then."

Thomas sits on the other side of the table, "So, do you want to eat now?"

Newt grinned, "Hell yeah."

They ate, chatted, laughed and more. Sometimes they just stayed quiet but it wasn't an awkward silence; it was a nice one. They occasionally would look over the other and get caught staring. They chuckled every time it happened.

"And then, Malia grabbed my arm and bite it!"

_"What?"_

"I swear! It hurt like hell! Her tooth prints lasted about a week." the blonde wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin.

"So that's why you call her 'coyote'?"

"Yeah, but it's like a 'cute' nickname. No hard intentions."

The blonde smiles, looking over at his food, "Yeah. Did she still bites you?"

" _Hell no!_ Do you think I would be laughing now if that happened? I would be warning you!"

"What, not going to be my knight in shining armor is she bites me?"

Thomas took a sip from his glass, "Of course I would! I'll always protect you!"

Newt didn't felt butterflies over his stomach at _that_ comment, he didn't.

The dinner went pretty normal from that point onwards. After finishing, they paid -well, Thomas did- and went outside. They went walking through the street, still talking; talking about their families -on Thomas side it was a big conversation- and how their parents were best friends and how weird it was they meet. Faith, thought the brunet. Also, they talked about Newt's life back at England; his friends, his school. Apparently, he had two best friends. Thomas smiled at the thought of Minho and Teresa. They talked about school, too. Boring stuff, like their essays but Thomas liked the way the blonde suggested to get together to do homework and study for exams and tests. Time flew as their date came to an end. They took two frappes before calling for a taxi, -Thomas again paid- and they continued talking during the trip.

Arriving at the blonde's house felt like arriving at your doom. This was it, the end of their date. God, why it felt like we spend too little time together? He paid the driver and came out of the taxi, closing the door and turning to the house. They walked towards the entrance, stopping right in front of the door. Neither of them knew what to say or what to do. _'Maybe I could ask him out for a second one'_ thought the brunet.

"Well, I guess this is the good-

Then, out of nowhere, just like in those romantic -sometimes girly- movies, it started raining. They both looked up and noticed the grayish sky, clouds covering most of it.

"Wow, that's certainly cliché." they both chuckle, "You want to come in for a bit? Until the rain stops or maybe until it stops raining hard?"

"Sure? I can get a taxi and-

"But you'll get wet."

Thomas couldn't argue with his logic. Well, he didn't wanted to. So he nodded and followed the blonde as he opened the door. They both entered the house, closing the door behind them. It was kind of dark in there. Was Aunt Allison home?

"Mom?" nothing. "Mom, are you home? Dad?" he shrugged, "I think they aren't home."

The brunet glanced at the clock over the kitchen. It wasn't that late, maybe they went to have their own date too. Or they were sleeping soundly. He glanced at the blonde, who was ruffling his hair with one hand, droplets of water falling onto the floor. _God, why everything Newt did made him feel all flustered?_ The rain made his shirt stick to his body and those jeans weren't making any good either.

Before he knew it, he was walking towards Newt as the other looked at the kitchen, unaware of the brunet approaching him from behind. He couldn't wait any longer. His brain told him to stop right there, but his body told him to suck it. Newt turned to his side and saw Thomas a few inches away from him; he could feel the heat emitting from their bodies. Thomas grabbed the blonde by the waist and brought their bodies together, a soft sigh escaped the blonde's mouth. He saw something flash over the blonde's eyes as he closed their distance by crushing his lips over Newt's lips.

_Oh God, they felt even better than they looked!_

He feels hands gripping at his front shirt, and he feels something moving inside him. He feels kind of happy. And horny. Very much.

It's not until Newt stomps on his foot that he realizes that the blonde's trying to actually shove him off.

"Oww!" Thomas let go of him and Newt stumbles halfway across the living room to lean against the bookshelf. He looks flustered and absolutely gorgeous and Thomas is now really turned on.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

Thomas's mind starts working faster than he could imagine. Inside his head he began rambling, _"Say something clever!"_ he thinks for a moment and then swallows, _"Okay, doesn’t have to be clever, it just has to be words. Say some words."_ he opens his mouth but nothing comes out. Newt is still looking at him, _"Any words will do."_ he closes his mouth and looks around trying to think what he could say. He opens his mouth again but pauses, _"Oh my God! This is the longest that anyone has not talked ever! So just say something!!"_

"I think you should go."

Even now Thomas couldn't remember his own name, so he just nodded in defeat and went to the door, closing it behind him. He looked back at the door and cursed himself. He knew he screw it. He walked towards the sidewalk and held up his hand for a taxi. No signs of taxis and when one passed they would ignore him. Is this the universe way to tell him he deserve it? Great.

Brown eyes looked through the curtains at the wet brunet trying to pick up a taxi, getting splashed by a car passing by. Thomas held up his middle finger at the car that had pass, making the blonde chuckle. Finally Thomas was able to get a taxi and leave. He just wanted to forget about this day. Both wanted.

 

* * *

 

At the Hale (Peter's) house, Lydia was over her bedroom, having fallen asleep while checking the bills on her bed, her glasses still on. The lamp beside the bed was still on, dimly illuminating the room and the woman over the bed.

_"Mom. Mom. Mom."_

Lydia cracked an eye and saw Malia hovering over her. She stretched and yawned, taking off her glasses, "Malia. What are you doing here?" she asked a little sleepy.

"I think I heard something downstairs."

"Maybe it's your dad." she closed her eyes again, feeling too tired to move.

"I heard a window opening. And dad comes tomorrow, remember?"

Lydia's eyes open again, this time looking at her daughter and then sitting up straight, "And your brothers?"

"Sleeping. I already checked on them."

"Good." Lydia stands up and goes over the door, stopping in her tracks. Malia and she looked outside the room, their bodies still inside the room. They didn't see anything strange, so they entered the room again.

"Maybe we should call the police."

"We don't know for sure if there's someone downstairs. Maybe it was the wind." she glanced at the window, "It's raining, though." they heard the window closing again, making a light squeeze sound as it did so. Both Malia and Lydia's eyes widen and look at each other.

"Now tell me again if that was the wind, mom."

"Okay. Okay." she takes a deep breath, thinking what should they do now. Lydia's eyes lit as an idea comes to her mind, "Maybe we need to act like Uncle Stiles." she says she goes to the closet and takes out an aluminum baseball bat.

Malia frowns, "Are you serious, mom? A baseball bat?"

Lydia looks at her, "I'm going to protect my family, I'm going for it." she begins walking down the corridor with a feral look, gripping the bat tight, "And yes, with a baseball bat."

With Malia behind her, Lydia started going down the stair slowly, trying not to do any noise. But with Malia attached to her like a sticker was a little difficult. Once downstairs she looks at a dark figure near the kitchen counter and grips tighter the bat. She touches the wall searching for the light switch and when her hand is over it she flicks the lights on and the person startled looks at them and screams, falling onto the floor.

_"Ahh!!"_

Lydia screamed, gripping hard the bat, _"Ahh!!"_

Malia screamed too, _"Ahh!!"_

Lydia covered her daughters mouth upon seeing the person on the floor, calming down and sighing, "Thomas!" she uncovered Malia's mouth, "You scared us!"

"Sorry, I-I, it wasn't my intention. I didn't knew you were already sleeping and wha- Why are you holding a bat for?"

"I'll tell you what for!" said Malia angry as she tries to grab the bat, "Give me that bat! I'm going to hit him!"

"No one's going to hit anyone." the brunet stood up and Lydia could see his wet clothes, "Why are you wet?"

"I..." he glanced towards Malia and then at the floor. He didn't wanted to talk with her there. It seemed childish but that's the way he was. Lydia seemed to understand as she turned to Malia.

"Okay, you, go and check on your brothers. They might heard us and probably are under their beds. Go."

Malia nodded and went upstairs. Lydia turned to the brunet and waited for an answer. Thomas sighed and crossed his arms, looking at the floor.

"I screw up. I screw up so bad."

Lydia smiled at him softly and stretched her hand to him, "Come. Let's get you dry."

A few minutes later, Thomas was wrapped in a towel in just his underwear, sitting over the couch while his clothes dry. Lydia came over with a cup of coffee for him and tea for her.

"Thanks."

She sat beside him, "So... care to tell me what happened?" when the other didn't make a move to tell her, she continue, 

"Want me to call Stiles and tell him you feel asleep here hours ago?" he nodded, "Okay." she stood up, "I leaved you clothes in the bathroom, you can change and sleep on the couch. If you need anything, you know where to find me." she said pointing upstairs.

"Thanks."

She started walking towards the stairs and midway stopped, "Next time, call me and I'll open the door. No matter what time." and continued her way.

Thomas went to the bathroom and changed into clean and dry clothes. He leaved the towel on a chair in the kitchen and went back at the couch. Aunt Lydia had leaved a pillow and a blanket for him too. He lay on the couch, his head resting on soft pillow and pulling up the blanket. As he drifted into sleep, he made a mental note:

First thing in the morning tomorrow was to apologize to Newt.

 

* * *

 

The other day at school, Newt was over his locker, taking out his books for the rest of the classes. He looked at one of the flowers he kept and frowned; he pushed it back at the bottom of the locker. Once he closed his locker, just right behind it was Thomas, holding up a small white flag. Newt frowned and continued walking away, the brunet following him.

"Newt, please." the blonde stopped and turned to look at him, arms crossed.

"Okay. Speak."

"I was a jerk. I admit it." he said putting a hand over his chest, "I just really like you. I-I know that's not excuse but I wanted you to know it. I shouldn't have kissed you without your consent. I'm so sorry. It was like someone or something took control of my body and _I-_ I said I would change for you and I'm not turning over my promise. I promise I'll change. I'll really do." he takes a deep breath,

"Let's start from the beginning." and holds forward his hand, "Hi, I'm Thomas. I love running, I snore sometimes and I don't like waking up early."

The blonde chuckled and accepted his hand, "Nice to meet you, Thomas. I'm Newt. I play the guitar, I love flowers and if you try to do that again, your feet are not what you're gonna be worried about."

Thomas quickly glanced at his own crotch and then at the blonde, "Got it."

The bell rang and students started entering their classrooms.

"Come on, we have History."

Newt turned around and started walking towards their classroom, a playful smile appearing on his face. Thomas jumped and punched the air, a smile over his face. He gripped his books tight and ran to follow the blonde. Life wasn't that bad after all. A little messy, but it was okay.

 


	7. Baby on Board

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if there are a few typos. I don't know what happened to my beta, and I'm getting worried.  
> Either ways, keep reading. I hope it's good chapter.

It has been two weeks since the 'disastrous date' and things were going pretty good, if you asked Thomas. They went to classes together, when they had the same class they sat together, they -together with Minho and Teresa- eat on lunch time together. And Thomas was starting to like the word 'together' if it meant Newt and him. They hadn't brought the date subject at all; but it was okay. Newt was his friend -for now- and Thomas could be very patient.

Currently, they were at their health class, listening to what their eccentric teacher was saying,

"Now, class." the teacher began, "We'll be discussing the responsibility that comes with parenthood." she takes out a baby doll from the box on her desk, "In preparation... This weekend, each of you will be taking care of one of these."

Teresa tilts her head, "We have to take care of a doll?"

"Oh, not a doll." she carries the baby, "This is a high-tech baby simulator. It must be fed, changed, and nurtured —just like the real baby. And if you don't, it will cry, and I will know."

"How?"

"There's a recorder inside." she says turning the baby so the class can see the back of it, a black part that must be the recorder, "You'll get a gender for your baby. You will be given a piece of paper, and this will be your baby's birth certificate. You name the baby, please something nice." some people chuckled, "And both will sign the paper as parents." she smiles, "Now, each of you will be paired with a partner. And as I see there's an uneven number of girls some of you will be paired with another guy." she passes the baby she's holding to Minho, "Minho, you'll be paired with Teresa."

Minho begins rocking the baby softly, " _Oh_... I'm starting to feel motherly maternal-type feelings." Teresa rolls her eyes. The baby then starts crying, making Minho panic, "It wants you!" he throws it to Teresa, who manages to catch it on time.

"Newt, you'll be working with Thomas." says the teacher giving him a baby.

Thomas's heart jumps to outer space and back. Now _that_ was luck. Newt turned around and looked at him, baby on hands. He smiled, waving at the brunet. Thomas himself smiled goofy and waved back. This was going to be fantastic. He heard a few more names being said and some students turning and clapping with excitement.

"Alright, please. For the rest of the class, go sit with your partner and decide how will you take care of the baby, the name, etc." she clapped enthusiastically. Boy, she loved this.

Before he noticed it, Newt was already sat in front of him, together with the baby, "Hi."

"Hey." he looked down at the baby, "So... A baby." _smooth Thomas._

Newt shook his head while smiling, "Yes. A baby."

Thomas looked around the room and saw the partners talking, some looked serious, some were at their phones. He looked at Minho and Teresa. She was rocking the baby while she talked to Minho. She was a natural. "What should we do first?"

"First. We need to pick up a name." the brunet nodded, "Okay, what do you suggest? Oh, wait. Is it a girl?"

"Whatever you decide."

"I prefer a boy."

"Boy it is." said Thomas with a smile.

"How about Mark?" the brunet grimaced, "What? Don't you like it?"

"I-I don't know."

"Okay. Why don't you say a name?"

Thomas looked up for a moment thinking and then smiled, "Barry."

"Like Barry...?"

The other shrugged, "Allen."

"You really want to name our baby like the Flash?"

"Why not? It's a cool name!"

Newt shook his head while chuckling, "You're such a kid. And if we're gonna name the baby like superheroes then what about Bruce?" he said crossing his arms.

"Like Bruce Wayne?"

"No, Bruce Banner."

"Oh, come on. That's not fair!" said Thomas raising his voice a little, making some students look at him. He whispered, "Okay. No superheroes."

Newt grinned, "Good." he waited for five seconds to say "Villains neither." he heard Thomas groan.

After spending most of the time they had on picking the name of the baby, they still haven't decided. _How could parents do this when they had a baby? How did Aunt Lydia managed with twins? Or Uncle Scott?_

Thomas sighed, "What about Timothy?"

The blonde twisted his lip, "I don't really know. I mean, you really want to have your kid named 'Timmy', Tommy?" he said giving the brunet a small smile.

_Holy crap. He called me Tommy. Oh my God, I'm gonna die. Keep cool, Thomas. Keep cool._

"Uh, yeah, yeah. You're right." he looked at the clock and groaned. They had literally minutes before the class ended. "We are the worst parents ever, we don't even know how to name our baby!"

"Okay, just tell me names that come to your head and I'll tell you which one I like."

Thomas nodded and started rambling, "Uh... Matt, Ross, Justin, Michael, James, Harry, Dylan, Gregory-

"Wait, what did you said?"

"Uh, I really don't know. I just said a bunch of names."

"Before the last one."

"Uhh.... Dylan?"

"I like that one."

"Alright, my dearies!" the teacher said, making everyone look at her, "Here's the birth certificates. Fill them out, please." she said as the papers were passed at each couple.

The brunet took one paper and glanced back at Newt, who nodded at him. He wrote down 'Dylan' and signed, he passed it to the blonde who signed it too.

Just in time the bell ring and everyone began packing their stuff and leaving the classroom, not before delivering the certificate to the teacher. Newt grabbed the baby and went to the door, waiting there for Thomas as the brunet gave the teacher the paper.

She was sat on her desk, receiving the papers form the students. Thomas approached her and hand over the certification. She smiled and saw at the paper, "A last name, honey. He'll need a last name."

Thomas looked at the blonde and then at the paper. He wrote 'Hale'. Sure Newt wouldn't bother. He gave the paper to the teacher and ran to the door.

" _Ta-ta!~_ " the teacher said waving at them with the birth certification on hand and a big smile on her face.

 

* * *

 

After school ended, the boys went to Thomas house for him to pick up some stuff. They entered the house and slowly closed the door, not wanting to disturb anyone who was in there.

Thomas turned towards the blonde holding the baby, "You stay here, I'm gonna go upstairs to my bedroom and get some stuff, okay?" the other one nodded. Thomas went upstairs, and after a few minutes he went down with a bag Newt thought had clothes. "Okay, now let's get out of here." as they turned towards the door, the blonde's hand over the knob, the baby burped. Thomas face-palmed himself as Stiles's voice was heard upstairs.

_"Thomas? Is that you?"_

"Did he really relate you with a burp?" asks Newt while trying to suppress his smile. Thomas shoved him playfully, also chuckling a little as Stiles came downstairs.

They smiled and greeted the man as he approached them. The first thing Stiles noticed was the baby wrapped in a light cerulean blanket and he smiled, "Oh, what a beautiful baby."

Thomas rolled his eyes, "It's a doll. We're practicing what it's like to be parents for health class."

"And you two are the parents?" asked Stiles. The two guys nodded, "Ow, that's so sweet."

 _"What's sweet?"_ was heard another voice coming from the stairs. Derek came down and walked towards them.

"Derek, look!" said Stiles pointing at the baby wrapped in Newt's arms.

Derek looks at the baby and then he looks at Thomas. Then at the baby and Thomas again as he frowns, "Did you got someone pregnant?"

Newt looks at Thomas, "What are you?" Thomas groans and exits the house. Newt says goodbye to the two men and goes follow the brunet, closing the door behind him. Stiles smacks the back of his husband's head, calling him sourwolf and then going to the kitchen.

After the embarrassing moment over the brunet's house, the pair arrived at Newt's house. They grabbed their things and walked towards the door, opening it softly.

"Mom, I'm home!" he yelled as he closed the door.

Allison came from the laundry room and entered the living room, smiling at her son. "I'm glad you're back, honey. I was just gonna make-" she notices Thomas, "Oh, hi Thomas." she walks towards him and hugs him.

"Hi, Aunt Allison." he says as they separate. She then kisses her son's cheek, and goes towards the kitchen.

"I was just going to make dinner... or do you want to order something?" she asks.

Thomas and Newt walked towards the kitchen table, "Whatever you want, mom."

 _"Isn't he a cutie?"_ was heard from the laundry room, startling the two boys. They saw the strawberry blonde woman coming from there, only she didn't had a shirt on, her black with red bra showing.

"Aunt Lydia!" said Thomas smiling, "What are you doing here?"

"Well, if you want me to go, you just have to say it." she said with a smile as she opened her arms to him. The brunet rolled his eyes and hugged her, "I'm glad to see you too, Thomas." they separated, "What's with the baby?"

Thomas sighed as he sat over the dinner table, "We have to take care of this fake baby in pairs for the whole weekend."

"Oh, we had an assignment like that, remember?" asks the strawberry blonde woman to Allison.

Allison smiles, "Oh, yeah. On the second semester we had to take care of an electronic baby for two weeks."

"And who was the mother?" asks Newt.

Allison and Lydia hug, and looking at him with a big smiles they say, "We were!" the blonde rolls his eyes with a smile.

"Why don't you two go upstairs? I'll order you a pizza," said Allison smiling to her son.

"You're the best."

"I know."

The front door opened and Andrew entered wearing a suit and his suitcase on hand. He closed the door and saw the two boys on the kitchen, a baby on his son's arms and Lydia without a shirt.

"I... I think I hit my head on the concrete." he said as he putted his suitcase on the floor, right next to the couch and walked towards them.

Allison approached him and kissed his cheek, "Hi, honey."

"Hi. What's going on?" he asked pointing at the guys and Lydia.

"It's for a project." she answered.

"We have to take care of a baby. We'll be in my bedroom, okay?" and with that, both boys went upstairs and disappeared into the blonde's room.

As Allison went back to the laundry room, Andrew turned towards Lydia, who was standing next to him with her hands on her hips, still shirtless. "Wow, Lydia. Umm..." he coughed, "Why are you without a shirt?"

"My husband likes me this way." she said with a shrug and a smirk. Allison's chuckle was heard from the laundry room.

"I'm glad for him."

 

* * *

 

At the next morning, crying was still heard at the blonde's room. For the in fortune of the two boys, the baby had started crying minutes after the pizza arrived. They thought he was hungry so they fed him; it didn't work. They checked his diaper, it wasn't that. The baby just continued crying, being passed between the two boys trying to calm him. Thomas was lying over the window seat, head on the wall, meanwhile Newt was over his bed, curled up with his right hand on the floor.

"Newt... baby." he muttered, eyes closed.

The blonde responded, "Thomas... your turn." also with his eyes closed.

The brunet huffs but still gets up, stretching and yawning he goes towards the baby, who was lying at the desk, wrapped in some blankets. He grabs it and passes it to Newt.

The blonde begins rocking him, trying to calm him, " _Shh, shh_ , it's ok, Dylan. Don't cry."

"I don't think asking him is going to help. He's been crying for a day straight." Thomas grabs the pacifier from the desk and passes it to the blonde, "Here."

"Thanks." he keeps rocking the baby and suddenly his crying stop; they both sigh in relief. Suddenly, the baby spits out the pacifier and starts crying again. Thomas and Newt groan and keep trying to shush the baby again.

There was a knock on the bedroom's door so as Newt hushed the baby, Thomas went to open it. There appeared Minho and Teresa, carrying their baby.

"Hi." said Teresa; she looked back at Newt, "Your mom let us in."

They entered the room and noticed how the teenagers looked, "Wow, you two look awful."

"Yeah, what happened?"

Thomas opened his eyes, "You want to know what happened?" he pointed at the baby, "That happened."

As Minho sat on the desk chair, Teresa went towards Newt, "He didn't leaved you sleep?" they both shook their heads. Currently the baby was sleeping.How did that happened?

"And what about you?" asked the brunet.

"I had her the first night." said Teresa, "Today is his turn to have her. But she was quite peaceful." her face light up in an idea, Thomas knew it. He knew every time she had an idea, "In fact, now is your turn to have the baby, so..." she passes him the baby, "Here she is. I'm going to take rest if you don't mind."

Thomas looked at the blonde guy and saw him yawning. He did look tired. He himself was tired but he also got tired while playing videogames all afternoon with Minho.

Thomas talked, "Newt. Why don't you also have some rest?"

The blonde looked at him, "But I-I didn't took care of him alone, you were with me. You also deserve to rest."

"Yeah, but that way when it's late, I can rest too and meanwhile you'll take care of Dylan. Then I'll wake up and help you."

"Are you sure?"

Thomas shook his hand like it was nothing, "Yeah, I'm not even that tired."

"Dude, you look like a freakin' raccoon with those bags under your eyes." said Minho, making the brunet nudge him.

Newt looked between them and nodded, "All right. I'll take it." he gives the baby to Thomas, "But if something happens I want you to call me."

"I will, I will."

"Okay!" said Teresa clapping her hands, "Now, you two go and take care of the babies." she said as she pushed them out of the bedroom, "Us mommies need some well-deserved rest."

 _"Mommies?"_ asked Minho chuckling. The girl hit the back of his head and then closed the door.

Minho sighed and pointed back at the door, "Can you believe we're with those two? What a nightmare."

_"We heard that!"_

Both Minho's and Thomas's eyes widen and they ran towards the stairs, trying to get out of the house while laughing.

 

* * *

 

Minho drove Thomas back at his house and then he leaved. He said he needed to cook his meal and then they'll go and do something together. Thomas nodded and went towards the house entrance. He entered the house and closed the door behind him.

Thomas went to the kitchen, still carrying the baby who was fortunately sleeping, for something to eat. He looked at the kitchen's clock. _8:45 a.m. Damn it._ Maybe his pops was still sleeping. He opened the fridge and took out the milk carton. He grabbed the cereal box form the top shelve and a bowl. He cautiously put the baby over the counter and as he putted the bowl on the table, his calculus failed him.

"Ow, shi-" the bowl fell on the floor and although it didn't broke, it woke up the baby. The baby started crying again, "How can you cry for almost a whole day?!"

 _"Thomas?"_ he heard his pops coming down stairs. Stiles entered the kitchen fully dressed and smiled at his son. He saw the baby crying over the counter and the bowl on the floor, "So... how was your first night as parent."

"Awful."

Stiles chuckled and looked around, "And where's Newt? Isn't he going to help you?"

Thomas kneeled to grab the bowl, "I told him he could rest and I'll take care of the baby."

"Oh, that's very sweet. You're such a good boy, doing favors to people you care about." he looked at the clock and then at Thomas, smiling at him. Thomas looked suspicious at his pops and grabbed the still crying baby. Stiles bit his lip and sighed, "Okay. Can you do me a favor?"

 _I knew it._ "Um, yes. What it is?"

"Please go to the supermarket and get me some things." he gave him a small list, "I need to go to an emergency meeting with the principal and teachers from school. Apparently, one of Susan's kids ate glue between classes this week." Thomas looks around, not noticing why was that so important, "We didn't have any glue this week."

" _Oh_." Stiles nods and he goes to open the door. Thomas looks at the still crying baby and follows the brunet, "Pops, can _you_ do me a favor?" Stiles nods, "The baby won't stop crying. He's been like this all day."

Stiles grabs the doll and turns it around, trying to find a way to make it stop. He then hits the doll at the wall and it stops crying, "There you go." he passes the doll back at Thomas, and as he's walking through the door he says "Though that never worked on you."

 _"Ha-ha."_ said Thomas with sarcasm, swearing he saw his pop grinning as he left.

He closed the door and went to grab his keys from the counter. Wait. What could he do with the baby? He couldn't leaved the baby alone. He thought in calling Newt so while he went to the mall, the blonde look over the baby. _No, that's unfair. I said I would take care of the baby as he rest a little._

"Well, what do you say about going to the mall with your papa?" the baby burps, "That's my boy!"

 

* * *

 

Thomas was over the mall, baby on hands and walking through the shelves looking for the things his pops had wrote down on the list.

 _'Okay. Pasta. Pasta, pasta, pasta._ _Where the hell is the pasta? Okay, I'll go for it later. What's next?'_ he read the list, _'Sausages. Okay, I know where those are.'_ he went to the end of the hall and almost collided with an elderly woman. Good thing, he didn't and apologized to the lady who smiled and nodded. Bad thing, the baby started crying again, making the brunet groan.

"Please, Dylan. You were sleeping so peacefully just a moment ag _o WHY CAN'T YOU GO BACK AT THAT MOMENT?!_ " he yelled the last part in desperation. Then he remembered where he was and looked around; people were staring at him.

_Great way to make a scene, Thomas._

"It's a school project." some people nodded, understanding the situation; others still looked at them and shook their heads, clearly mad because he was very young to be carrying a baby, even if it wasn't real.

As he turned around to continue his shopping, he almost collided with Newt _\- Newt?!_ The blonde crossed his arm, looking at the crying baby over the brunet's hands.

Thomas frowned, "What are you doing here?"

"Nice seeing you too, Tommy."

"I didn't mean it like that."

"Minho's girlfriend called him and he called me. She saw your little scene over the mall." Thomas groaned, "I told you to call me if something happened."

"I know, I know. But I wanted you to rest, you look tired."

Newt cupped his face, "So are you." he smiled a little and grabbed the list from Thomas's hands, "Come on, let's finish this so we can go back home."

Surprisingly the finished really quick. They decided to go to the blonde's house, as there were their things. They took the bus and waited as it brought them closer to the blonde's house. Only a few street away. Once they got out of the bus, they started walking.

"Okay. I know you are hungry and that your father made you go for the groceries, but you need to rest. We'll leave the things over my house and then talk to your father. Now, give Dylan to me so you can rest a little. Then we'll eat and take care of him together."

"Okay-" Thomas frowned. Wait a minute. He looked at the blonde and then at himself, then again. He was holding only the groceries bags. _Only the groceries bags. Oh no_. The blonde turned to look at him when he noticed he stopped walking. He saw the terrified look on the brunet and frowned. Then he looked at the bags and at Thomas, then again.

Newt's eyes widen in realization, "You leaved our child on a bus?!"

"Hey! You said it yourself, 'our baby'! It's also _your_ fault!"

" _You_ were carrying it!"

Thomas stops for a moment before talking, trying to find how to respond. He frowns, "Oh, yeah." he shook his head, "But I had the bags. The least you could do was either carry him or helping me with the bags!"

"No, no, no! Don't try to blame this on me! How could you leave a baby on a bus?!"

"It wasn't even a real baby!"

"That's not the point! The point is that you're irresponsible!" silence. "Yeah, I said it. You take things lightly, and you want something to happen between us? What if it does? And we grow up together and want to have kids? You're going to be like this?" he waits for a moment, as if waiting for the brunet to say something, "Because if that so, this makes me realize that I can't take care of a baby with you. Electronic or real." he stops for a moment and looks at the brunet, "I can't have a baby with you." he whisperers.

 

* * *

 

That's the last thing Newt had said before turning around and walking away, not even bothering to stop or look behind. Thomas returned to his house and slumped on the couch, groceries bags all over the floor. Neither of his dads had come home, so he was just staring at the ceiling. He heard the keys outside the door and a voice talking to someone. The door opened revealing Lydia, holding her phone between her shoulder and ear,

"I'm telling you, Stiles. You didn't leave the oven on. Because you haven't cooked anything since Christmas Eve!-" she saw the young brunet on the couch and waved at him, "Okay. I'll call you later. Bye, bye!" she putted away her phone and smiled, "Hey, tiger." she kissed his temple.

"Hi."

"What's wrong?" she sat beside him on the couch, "Come on. You know you can tell me anything."

"I screwed up."

" _Again?_ You really are Stiles's kid." she chuckled, "What happened?"

"I lost the baby and Newt got mad at me. He had the right, but-" he sighed, "I'm such a mess."

Lydia nods, looking around the living room and then at Thomas. She smiles and nudges him, "You know, your father and I had to take care of an egg for a weekend when we were on 4th grade."

Thomas looks at her, "Really?"

"Yeah. We thought it would be great to take care of something with someone you share a bond. Everything started great... and then we lose it. Two times."

The brunet chuckles, "Really? And what happened?"

"The first time it was on a bus..." Thomas bites his lip. So it could happen! "But we managed to recover it. Then we lose it again at the park. We went searching for it. We looked everywhere, we wandered every place before losing it." she sits beside Thomas, "We started fighting over whose fault was it. Of how would we explain it to the teacher, and that we were gonna fail that assignment. And then we went to the park again." she stops for a moment, "We didn't succeed at first. We were gonna start arguing again when your father said it wouldn't do any good is we fight. We called truce and sat on a nearest bench." she laughs at the memory.

"Then, Sitles heard a sound. I heard it too, and so we kneeled in front of the bench, crawling under it following the sounds. And there, lying over the grass was our egg." she let out a smile, "It was hatching." Thomas also smiles, "It was wonderful. The miracle of life." she turns to look at the brunet, her smile still on her face, "We promised never fight again for something stupid. No matter how angry we were, or frustrated... we didn't wanted to lose our friendship. _Our bond_. Do you understand me?"

Thomas nods, letting go of her hands, "I do."

"Then what are you waiting for? Go get him, tiger."

 

* * *

 

After ringing the bell from Newt's house, Thomas stood on the porch waiting for someone to answer the door. He didn't knew what he was doing here. He hopped Newt was at his house. If not, then he'll have to search for him. Maybe at the coffee shop near school. Well... those were the only places he could think of. Thomas groaned, _what should I do?_ _And what should I say?_

His thoughts were pushed aside when the door opened, revealing Allison with her hair wet. She must have come out of the shower recently.

"Thomas, hi."

"Hi, aunt. Umm, I was wondering if-

"He's at the attic room. Go." she smiled while moving aside, letting the brunet boy inside. Thomas smiled too and went upstairs.

It felt kind of awkward knowing that his aunt knew he was there for Newt. _Maybe he told her._ _Maybe it was too obvious. Was Newt that angry when he returned home? Or maybe upset?_

He stopped in front of some white stairs, leading up. Obviously the attic. He climbs them, each step feeling harder than the last one. Now this attic wasn't like the ones you usually know. It didn't look old, nor dusty or half-descent. It was actually pretty good: it was clean, ordered, it had two bookshelves full with books and some empty boxes beside it. Some others boxes were there too, but they had things inside. It had a light hanging from above, illuminating the room. There was even a hammock at the very end.

And there's when he noticed him. _Newt._ Sitting over the floor cross-legged with a box in front of him, taking out some stuff from it. He looked up at Thomas and then down again. Then he frowned and looked up again quickly as if the first time he didn't noticed Thomas at all. He didn't said anything, nor _'get out'_ or _'leave me alone'_ or _'what are you doing here?'_.

"Hey."

The blonde just stared at him, still not saying anything. Thomas sits in front of him, on the opposite side. He looks at the box in the middle of them and something catches his attention. Brown eyes following his movements, he picks up the toy megaphone voice changer and turns it on. He puts it in front of his mouth and says _"I'm sorry I'm an ass."_ with a distorted voice.

Newt stares at him and held out his hand so the other gives him the megaphone, _"I'm sorry you're an ass, too."_ Thomas chuckles, closing his eye while shaking his head. Newt also chuckles, putting aside the toy.

"So... are we okay?"

"Yes." he smiled, "But we still have to find that baby."

"I'm not going to rest until we have found him. I promise."

 

* * *

 

After spending four hours searching for the baby they managed to found him at the bus station. The lady driver had found it and keep it, if someone went to report it. They had thank her and returned home. Amazingly, the baby was sleeping. They decided to take advantage of that and sleep to, being too tired to do anything else. On Monday, the teacher told everyone that they had passed with an A, telling them that the only thing she wanted was for them to try. To see what it mean to take care of another person, to be patient with each other and to learn how to overcome troubles and fights. Minho and Thomas high-fived, as well as Newt and Teresa. Minutes before the class ended, the teacher was holding a baby and as she putted it down on her desk, the baby's recorder started playing,

 _"Ow, shi-"_ it was Thomas's voice; then a loud sound was heard as something fall on the floor, making the baby cry, _"How can you cry for almost a whole day?!"_

The whole class started laughing at that, even the teacher laughed too. Minho smacked his head over his desk, trying to stop laughing. Teresa had her face covered by her hands, her whole body shaking. Newt had his mouth covered by one hand, looking over at the blushing brunet. Thomas groaned and lay down his head on the desk, turning his head to the side and locking eyes with the blonde. Newt looked over at him and smiled. The brunet returned the smile.

 

 

_"Alone, we can do so little. Together we can do so much." Helen Keller._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this chapter is big. Hopefully you'll have enjoyed it! To see the extract from the story Lydia told Thomas about her and Stiles taking care of the egg, you can check the shorts.


	8. A Lot Can Happen in A Day (Whether Good or Bad)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm back! No, I'm not dead. I was just busy and without inspiration to continue this, but I'm still standing.  
> So, I hope you still join me in this fic~
> 
> P.S. Unbeta'd, so bear with me.

Thomas was over his house, reading a magazine on the couch when he heard a pair of keys. He turned his head towards the door, waiting for it to open. Moments later the door opened, revealing Scott and his pops- who was leaned over his uncle and giving little jumps. Thomas frowned and stood up from the couch, walking towards them,

"What happened?"

Stiles shrugged, "Well, Sandy was playing at the swings and I was with her, and then Toby started climbing the castle and got to the top, saying _'Look at me! Look at me!'_ and I saw looking at him but when I turned to look at another kid, he took aim to jump from the top. So I panic and ran towards him, and I..." he scratched the back of his head, "tripped with a few toys on the floor and fell on the floor, just before Toby touched the ground. He fell on my stomach."

Thomas looked at his uncle, "Long story short, he hurt his ankle."

"I'm fine." he tried to stand up but almost fell if Scott didn't grab him, "Kind of."

"I'll go for some ice." said Scott as he disappeared into the kitchen. Thomas helped his pops towards the couch and lie him down.

Stiles turned to his son, "So, how was school?"

 

* * *

 

At the Hale (Malia) house, Peter enters the house, closing the door behind him. As he walks towards the kitchen, he finds Malia with a book on hands, reading it and not noticing him.

"Oh, hey. Still studying for that test?"

"I can't. I have to study." answered the girl automatically, still looking the book.

Peter frowns, "What time did you get to bed?"

"Sure thing." she went upstairs. Peter frowned and went to the kitchen, finding Lydia making dinner.

"Hey, love." he kissed her cheek and then approached the table, "You know, I'm getting worried about Malia. I don't think she slept again last night. It's like the third night in a row." he ruffled the twins hair.

"Well, you know how worried she is about college."

"I just saw her acting like a robot, holding onto a book as if she were to die."

"She really wants to get in and she needs to study hard."

"Yeah, I think you're right."

Lydia turned her head, smirking, "Aren't I'm always?" Peter smirked at her too as she reassumed her cooking.

Peter clapped, "I just came to change clothes and then I'll be leaving again."

"It's okay. I'm leaving tomorrow's dinner ready since I have to go to the school and have a parent-teacher conference." she glanced at Aiden and then back at the meal.

"And how do you know it’s me and not Ethan?

Lydia stares at him like if she was doubting but then she smirks, "Nice try." Aiden shrugs, looking at his brother muttering _'I tried'_. Peter opened the fridge and took out a plate with a sandwich on it; he grabbed it and bite it, chewing slowly. Lydia turned around quickly and winced, covering her mouth, " _Ugh_ , no, keep that away! Keep that away!" she yelled. Peter threw the sandwich back again into the fridge.

"Why? What's wrong?"

She uncovered her mouth, breathing slowly, "Ugh, I don't know. It smelled too strong."

Peter frowns and smells his hands but can't find anything wrong. He looks up at Lydia and finds her glaring at him; if he learned something about being married with the strawberry blonde woman was that she was always right, even when she wasn't.

He cleared his throat, "I'll go change," and ran upstairs. Lydia smiled and turned around, ignoring the way her stomach still complained.

 

* * *

 

Waiting for Thomas in a coffee shop were Minho and Teresa, sitting in a indoor table; Minho had a black coffee and Teresa a chai tea. The mocha frappe beside the girl was Thomas'.

"No." said Minho taking a sip from his coffee.

"Come on, I'll assure you you'll like it."

"No, I said no! I bet it's the typical girly book were the main characters end up together to live happily ever after. No thanks, I have enough with my girlfriend and homework. And I swore never to read a complete book again after _'To Kill a Mockingbird'_ gave me no useful advice on killing mockingbirds." he tilts his head, "Although it did teach me not to judge a man based on the color of his skin..." he shakes his head, "But that's not the point!"

 _"Hey, guys!"_ they turn around and see Thomas entering the shop, walking towards them, "Sorry I was late, you weren't waiting for too long, right?"

"No,"

"Yes,"

Teresa looked at Minho and rolled her eyes. She shook her head and looked at the brunet,

"So? What's up, Tom?"

"Well, I talked to my aunt Allison the other day and she told me that tomorrow was Newt's birthday, and that he wasn't going to go to school because of it, so..."

"You have any plans? Something romantic? _Cheesy_? _Tooth-rotting_?" Teresa laughed at the Asian's words. Thomas shoved him, gaining a chuckle from his friend.

"I still don't know. I want to do something that gives a good impression, but not something too extravagant."

"Well, there are always simple things that you can do that can impress him. I don't know, like, give him flowers each hour of his birthday, take him to the park and talk, go watch a movie..." she shrugged, "what'd you think, Minho?"

The Asian boy nodded and tapped the table with his hands,

"Okay, you win. I'll read the book." Teresa clapped and gave him the book, then took a sip from her tea.

"Which book?" asked the brunet.

Minho raised the book, "'The Fault in Our Stars'."

Thomas stares at him and then looks at Teresa, who is simply staring at him, "Should I tell him or-

"No, I just said I'll read the book and that's what I'm going to do. So no spoilers!"

"Okay, okay." the brunet raised his hands in defense, "I promise."

Teresa nodded, "So, back at your future husband's birthday..."

"Yeah, what are you gonna do?"

"Like you don't know him, Min." she looked at Thomas, "Something impulsive, right?" Thomas grinned, "See? Told you,"

 

* * *

 

The alarm playing was what woke him up. Newt stretched over his bed and with his eyes still close, he turned off the alarm. He opened his eyes, brown eyes looking around the room to get used to the light inside the room. He glanced at his alarm, _10:30 a.m_. For a moment he got worried about school but then remembered what his mom told him. _'Oh yeah, today's my birthday.'_ He sat and then stood up, going to the bathroom as he usually does.

As he yawned he glanced at the mirror, noticing something different that catch his attention. There were red letters over it, as if someone had written something. It said, _'Go to the kitchen'_. His eyebrows raise but he does so, going downstairs and towards the kitchen. He found over the table a bouquet of beautiful flowers with a single note that said _'Open the door'_ in a perfect handwriting. He went running towards the door and he opened it; he heard a plane and looked up, seeing a plane writing over the sky _'Newt, turn on the radio'_. His smile grew even more as he went to the living room and turned on the radio, leaving it on the station it was.

The guy over the radio chuckled, _"This is Bill and Marty saying, 'Newt, go upstairs and look out the window'."_

Newt practically ran upstairs again and to his room, jumping over his bed and to the window seat. He rested his knees there as he opened the window, looking outside to see what's there; his breath caught in his throat, covering his mouth with his right hand as he supported his weight with the left one.

There was a group of few people with instruments; one man was playing the guitar, one woman the accordion, one man the tambourine and one singing; he couldn't believe it. It was a serenade. He chuckled, covering his mouth muttering a 'oh my god'.

 

_When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie_

_That's amore_

 

Newt smiled, uncovering his mouth and leaning further over the window.

 

_When the world seems to shine like you've had too much wine_

_That's amore_

 

He suddenly felt much happier. He knew who had made all this. He just couldn't believe it. Was he worth all this trouble? It seemed so. He shrugged it off and continued enjoying the serenade, closing his eyes with a smile. A few minutes later his father woke up asking where the bloody hell did that music came from so early.

 

* * *

 

Over the supermarket, Lydia was eating a pickle with something over it. She continued eating as she talked to the girl behind the counter, who just smiled at her.

"Mm, I woke up this morning with the biggest need to eat pickles with honey mustard and chips, and I just had to come here."

"Wow, maam, you have a strange taste."

Lydia shook her head, still chewing, "Actually no, I'm not used to eat this kind of things." she swallowed, "Well, I didn't had this crave since I was-" she stops for a moment, her face falling into realization at the little things that happened in the past week.

The girl looked at her, noticing she went silent, "Since you were what?"

"I need to go!" said Lydia as she grabbed her purse and took out some money, practically throwing it onto the counter as she rush outside, running towards her car and leaving the girl confused.

 

* * *

 

Over at school, Thomas was taking his books out for his next class. He had History with Minho and Teresa, and they were waiting for him over the classroom. Right then, his phone vibrated; he took it out and saw a message from certain someone,

  ** _'You won't believe what happened this morning.' -Newt._**

 Thomas smiled and typed,

**_'Please do tell.'_ **

**_'Well, apparently some guy knew it was my birthday and he did something crazy that includes the radio, a plane and serenade.' -Newt._**

  ** _'_ _Really? That's awesome. That guy is a keeper ;)'_**

 

**_'Maybe. I think it was Ronnie from our Art class.' -Newt._**

 Thomas grinned. That smug bastard. He quickly typed an answer,

**_'Yeah, he wish.'_ he looked at the clock and typed again, _'Gotta go, have classes. Text you later.'_**

As he was about to close his locker, a pretty brunet girl approached him, holding a book to her chest.

"Hey, Thomas."

He turned and smiled, "Hey. What's up?" he asked closing his locker.

"Well, since it's Friday and usually teacher's don't leave us homework," she smiled, "I was wondering if we could go some place, maybe watch a movie or at the mall."

"Umm, I'm really sorry. I can't."

"Oh. Maybe another day-

"No. I mean I can't... from now on."

"Oh." her eyes widen, " _Oh._ Do you have someone?"

"Something like that."

"Well, congratulations." she nods and starts walking away, but turns her head at him, "Finally, eh?"

As he watches her leave, another text arrives and Thomas looks at his phone,

**_'Thank you very much, Tommy. It was lovely.' -Newt._ **

 

He smiles. _Yeah, finally._

 

* * *

 

Lydia was pacing inside the bathroom of her bedroom, looking at the wall, the mirror, the shower, the floor, her phone. She then glanced quickly at the small thing over the sink. A pregnancy test. She shook her head and waited for the clock to move faster.

 _'So this is what Stiles must feel when he has one of his panic attacks.'_ A 'buzz' noise was heard all over the room and Lydia frowned, looking around. Where did that sound came from? It sounded almost as-

"My organizer!" she grabs her purse and takes out her cell phone, checking it. "Parent-teacher conference! I completely forgot!" she says with a groan, "I have to be at Aiden's school in 15 minutes." she looks at the test and at her phone. Then again and she sighs in exasperation. She rapidly grabs her purse, puts on heels and grabs the car keys. She peeks inside the bathroom and yells at the test, "Don't you move from here!" as she closes the bathroom door and runs out of the house.

 

* * *

 

The tires creaked against the asphalt as Lydia parked on the school's parking lot. She huffs as she gets out of the car and locks it, entering the building with her shades still on. _'Come on, come on'_ she thought as she walked through the halls. Aiden was sitting leaned back in a bench outside the classroom.

He sees Lydia walking -more like trotting- towards the classroom door and frowns, "Mom?"

"Yeah. Whatever." she opens the door and enters the classroom, where the teacher was sit on her desk.

The teacher sees Lydia with a smile and stands up to stretch her hand, "Mrs. Hale." but Lydia simply sits on one of the chairs in front, leaving the teacher confused.

"All right, let's do this thing." says Lydia as she takes off her shades, looking at the teacher.

The teacher looks at Lydia and then nods, "Okay." she sits, "Well, what can I say about Aiden? He is a sweet boy." Lydia nods, looking around the room and at the clock, "Aiden's very bright, but he's having a problem applying himself, particularly in Math."

"So? Hold him back." she sure sounded like a bitch, but right now, the real bitch was that pregnancy test over the bathroom's sink. "So, that's it? I can go?" she asked as she stood up, making the teacher stand up too.

"No, not exactly." said the teacher as Lydia sat again. She advanced at the front of the desk and leaned over it. She smiled at Lydia, "Um, you know, he's very good in English." she turned around to grab a paper, making Lydia roll her eyes, "I had the class write an essay on who they admire most, and he wrote a wonderful paper about your daughter." Lydia looks back at her and at the essay. She rapidly takes it and starts reading it. _'Why My Big Sister's The Greatest'_ , her eyes never leave the paper, _'I think my sister is the best sister in the world.'_ and she starts smiling at the essay as the teacher looked at her. Lydia even chuckles at some things like _'She doesn't like me very much, but still...'_ or _'My cousin calls her coyote and I think it suits her'_.

After finishing the reunion, Lydia opens the door and exits, finding Aiden still sitting -sprawled- over the bench. She kneels beside him.

Aiden sits straight, "So... what'd she say?"

"She showed me the paper you wrote about Malia."

"You saw that?" Aiden groans, closing his eyes as Lydia murmurs _'Mm-hmm'_ nodding, "Don't tell her I like her."

"Why not?"

"Because we have too much fun fighting." Lydia smiles at him, and caresses his cheek. She leans over and kisses his forehead. Then they both stand up and, with Aiden's hand around Lydia's waist and hers around his shoulders, they walked back to the car.

 

* * *

 

At the afternoon over the Hale's (Thomas) residence, Stiles was still over the couch as he couldn't move freely as he wished. He was watching TV, changing channels to see if there was something interesting to watch. The door opened and Derek entered the house. Stiles smiled at him and continued changing the channels.

"Hey, how you doing?" asked Derek as he closed the door and walked towards his partner.

"Fine. A little tired but fine." Derek kissed him in the lips once beside him. He looked around, noticing he was missing another brunet.

"Where's Thomas?"

"Sleeping. He's tired; he had to help me as Scott was working and Lydia was busy." he goes to move but Derek holds a hand up,

"Oh, no, no, wait. We can't have any of that." he bent over a little, "Now, put your arms around my shoulder-" Stiles passed his right arm around his partner's neck and the other in front, as Derek grabbed him and carried him bridal style, his left hand at Stiles's back and the other one behind his knees, "There we go." he began walking towards the stairs, "Don't worry, I've got you."

Stiles smiles softly, "I know you do."

 

* * *

 

Lydia and Aiden arrived at their home, and as the boy ran towards the living room to turn on the TV, Lydia ran towards her room, entering the bathroom and finding the test still where she left it. She lets out a sigh and grabs it, ready to turn it aorund. She hears the TV downstairs and then the boy's laughter. Smiling, she throws the test into the garbage, turning around and going downstairs to Aiden.

Later that night at the bathroom near the living room, Lydia sat on the toilet, her underwear pulled down just past her knees. Her pink malva colored panties were soaked with blood. Her period had finally arrived, almost seven days late and she could feel relief washing over her. Although it was mixed with dreariness.

Walking out of the bathroom, she walked back to the kitchen where Peter was. He was sitting on the table, reading a book.  As she entered the kitchen, she caught his attention,

Peter looked up at her, "Hey."

She smiled, "Hey." she sits on the chair in front of Peter and stays in silence for a couple of seconds, before looking at her husband, "What would you say about having another kid?"

"I would say _'Would you be a dear and sign the divorce papers?'_ " Lydia shoved him playfully, gaining a chuckle from the man, "Why? Don't tell me that's why you were kind of bitchy this week." Lydia shrugged a little, "Do you want another one?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

_"But...?"_

"I like it just the five of us. I wouldn't mind having another one, but I've been thinking." she looks at him, "What about you? What do you think?"

"I think... I don't care if it's three, or four, or ten kids... I want to have them all with you." Lydia smiles at him. He only is like that with her.

 _"Mom?"_ they turn around and see Malia holding the book with trembling hands; her hair all messy and the still wearing the same clothes, "The words on the page are vibrating, and I can't make them stop." her eyes widen, _"I forgot how to read!"_

Both Peter and Lydia walk towards her, "Malia, _oh_ , my God."

Maia extends the book at Lydia, "Read it to me, mommy?"

Lydia takes the book from her hands and closes it, she then caresses the girl's face, "Baby, you're exhausted and you need to go to sleep right now." she glances at Peter who nods. He grabs Malia and -with her arms around his neck- carries her bridal-style with Lydia at his side as they go upstairs.

 

* * *

 

The next day, Stiles had the ice pack over his left ankle and he was resting over the couch, looking at his feet. Derek appeared and approached him, "Stiles, we're sitting down to dinner."

Stiles opens his arms towards him, expecting the dark haired man to carry him again. Derek rolls his eyes but does so, passing his arm around the brunet's back and knees while carrying him. He eyes the ice pack,

"You do realize it was your other ankle you injured."

 


	9. The Angina Monologues

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in love with sick fics! They're one of my many kryptonites! So, here's one~  
> This chapter is dedicated to RavenNewtmasHowl, I love you and thanks for your kind words!

When Derek comes to consciousness, the first thing he is aware of -besides being sprawled over the couch and not on his bed- is voices; familiar voices.

"Don't use the blender, you'll wake him up!" _that's Stiles' voice._

"But we have to use the blender, how else are we supposed to make the healthy smoothies?" _was that Scott?_

"Yeah, but we don't want to wake him- _oh my god_ , what is in there? Is that _kale_ and _garlic_? You are not feeding that to my husband!"

"Stiles, it's okay. It's a recipe from Allison's mother."

"Somehow that doesn't make me feel better, Scott. Put the blender away before we wake him up!"

"I'm up, I'm up." says Derek rubbing his eyes while sitting down.

"See what you did, Scotty? You've just woken up the big bad wolf!"

"Dude, that's your husband."

Derek had come back from work at 4 a.m. with fever and he couldn't even make it to the bedroom. He collapsed on the couch and stayed there until Stiles woke up. When the older brunet noticed his feverish husband, he quickly called Scott and asked him to come and help him. The dark haired man rushed to the house with a strange smoothie recipe that 'supposedly' made you feel better. Stiles was not buying it. That recipe looked like something out of a Wicca spell book.

"What time is it?" asked Derek, looking around the living room, "And Thomas?"

"At school. _Shit!_ It's almost time to go for him!" Stiles groaned as he grabbed the car keys, "Scott, please take care of Derek while I go for Thomas, would ya?"

"Sure, bro. Go."

"Thanks!" before leaving, he quickly leaned down on the couch and kissed the still hot forehead of his husband and ran towards the door, "I'll be back soon!"

30 minutes later he arrived together with Thomas. Once he entered the house, Scott told him he had to go for the twins at school. Stiles nodded and thanked him, watching him leave.

Thomas leaved his backpack beside the couch, "How are you feeling, dad?"

"I'll survive."

"You better! You're not going to leave me alone with all the bills and the mortgage and this teenager!" yelled Stiles, crossing his arms. _'Umm, thank you?'_  thought Thomas.

"Your worry and love makes me stronger, Stiles."

The older brunet pouts and approaches the couch, sitting over the edge and grabbing Derek's hands, "You know I love you, and I don't like it when you're sick."

Derek cups his face, "I love you too." he brings their foreheads together, the brunet closing his eyes while doing that. Then Derek leans forwards and they start kissing.

"Eww, okay," Thomas grabbed his bag and pointed behind him at the stairs, "I'm gonna go to my room before you two go all lovey-dovey and I start throwing up." and with that he ran upstairs, closing the door behind him.

Both Derek and Stiles laughed at their son's reaction. Stiles smiled and stood up from the couch, walking towards the kitchen.

"Do you want to eat?"

"Please don't try to cook for me, Stiles." said Derek. If there's something he's learned from living full-time with the brunet is that there are tricks and rules he has to go by to make their lives easier. Rule one is _Never, never let Stiles in the kitchen._

"Geez, I'll just make pasta. How much can you mess that up?"

 

* * *

 

After a few minutes of being in his room making homework, Thomas stretched over his bed and looked at the screen of his laptop. This essay was impossible! He needed 3000 words and he had... 100. _Fuck it._ Putting aside his laptop he lay down on his back.

 _'I wonder how's Minho doing. I bet he has the exact same length. Teresa? Pfft. She must be almost finish. And Newt?'_ A smile appeared on his face while thinking about him. _'Maybe he's at the middle of it. Maybe I could ask him to come over and we could finish it together. Maybe-_

A loud noise coming from downstairs startled him, making him sit on the bed and stare at the door. He frowned and moved aside his laptop, standing from the bed and opening the door. He exited his room and went downstairs, towards the kitchen. Once he enters he looks around the room, noodles everywhere, and his pops standing in front of the stove with a packet in his hand.

Stiles turns to look at him and smiles, "Oh, hey, Thomas. You hungry? I'm making pasta, so if you can wait for a few more minutes-" unfortunately he drops the entire packet into the pot and when he reaches into the boiling water to pull it out, he burns his hand, " _Ahh! Fuu_ -Fudge, that hurts!"

Thomas chuckled at the way his pops grabbed his hand and cursed. When he was little he had heard Derek cursing and repeated it; Stiles didn't found it funny and after he scolded his partner, they decided to change the bad words for something else. Like right now. Even thought Thomas wasn't a little kid and cursed sometimes, his parents had become accustomed to it and said it sometimes.

Stiles let out a sigh of relief when the cold water from the faucet touched his hand. Yep. His pops could do anything he wanted, once he decided. Except cooking: that was his dad's job. Somehow, Stiles could only cook breakfasts and no more. Everything else ended up either burned or like right now, sprawled over the kitchen.

Thomas glanced at his dad lying over the couch with a blanket wrapped around his body, his sharp eyes staring at Stiles, "Wow. Dad must be really sick," points Thomas, "Usually you would have yelled at pops by now."

"I'm saving it up for when I'm better." he half-threatens.

The brunet nodded and glanced at the kitchen, "Um, pops? I'm going at Teresa's place, ok?"

"Okay, okay! Ah, god dammit! _Not again!_ " was the last thing Thomas heard before closing the door.

 

* * *

 

Thomas walked through the hallway of the apartment towards Teresa's door. He knocked a few times and waited for her to open. Four or five minutes passed until the door opened, and Thomas's mouth opened at the person who answered the door.

With bags under her watery-eyes, a big blanket wrapped around her shoulders, baggy pajamas with pink bunny's slippers and messy hair stood Teresa at the apartment's entrance.

"Wow, you look terrible."

"Thanks, Tom. That's _exactly_ what every girl wants to hear." she coughed into the tissue she was holding and moved aside, letting the brunet enter the place. She closed the door as the other walked towards the couch.

"I thought you would be better by now. What happened?"

The girl turned to look at him, " _'What happened?'_ Nothing happened, that's the problem! I'm not getting better!" she collapsed over the couch, bunny slippers flying over the coffee table, "How's your dad?" Thomas moved his hand side to side, "Uh, I'm sorry. I think I passed my cold to him."

"Why'd you think that?"

"Because the last time I went to your house I kind of... sneezed." Thomas frowned in confusion, not understanding why was that related to his dad being sick, "On a glass. And then put it over the sick without washing it."

"So? It was in the sink, maybe someone cleaned it."

Teresa bite her lip, "Then I was waiting for you to come out of the bathroom and your dad came to the kitchen for some juice." the brunet's eyes began widening, "Before I noticed he grabbed the glass and poured some juice and-"

"Oh my God-" Thomas covered his mouth in nausea, " _Eww! Teresa!_ "

"What else could I do?! He had already drank the juice and I didn't wanted to be blamed on!" she groans, "I'm patient zero!"

"Okay, we should probably not tell my pops that, because he'll try to kill you. And then me for having you as my friend. And then my dad for not washing the glass." he chuckles at that thought and then suddenly sneezes.

"Oh no, Tom. You're not-

"No, no, no. I just sneezed. Nothing serious. Don't worry." his phone rings and he takes it out of his jeans, looking at the screen and answering, "You're here? Great. Come upstairs. Yep, the number I told you." he hangs up.

Teresa frowns, "Who was that?"

"Minho."

"You called Minho?"

"Yeah. I thought if I was going to take care of you, then I would need help. Newt is on his way too."

"Geez, I don't have tuberculosis, it's just a cold." she says while slumping down on the couch. Moments later, there was a knock on the door. Both Teresa and Thomas looked at it, "That was fast."

The brunet went to answer the door, opening it and standing there was Minho, holding his hand up while making the 'peace sign'.

"What's up, bitches! No offense, Teresa." she nods as the brunet rolls his eyes, "So, how can I help?" he asked entering the apartment, taking off his jacket.

"Go to the kitchen, you and I are going to make some soup."

"No, Thomas. It's fine. I'm not hung-" she cut herself when she noticed the two boys ignoring her and going to the kitchen.

"Where do you keep the cooking pot, Teresa?"

"And the plates? Thomas, do you even know how to prepare soup?"

"Of course I can! I'm not like my pops!"

Teresa rolled her eyes and sighed, putting the wet towel lying over the floor again on her forehead. Fortunately, Thomas and Minho managed to make the dark haired girl some soup without destroying or burning down the kitchen. They were sitting over the living room, the girl on the couch with the bowl of soup on her legs.

She sighed, "I don't think this is working. Maybe I should go to the doctor again."

The brunet grins and sings, _"'Doctor Doctor, gimme the news, I've got a-"_ Minho joins him, _"'Bad case of lovin' you!!'"_ they start laughing, clutching their stomachs.

Teresa rolls her eyes, "Very funny, guys." she then chuckles, grabbing her bowl of hot soup.

"This is actually pretty good, guys."

"Did you doubted our culinary skills?" asked the Asian boy.

"Well, knowing how this guy's dad cooks," she said nodding at the brunet, "yeah, I did."

 

* * *

 

Late at night over the Hale's (Thomas) house, the brunet was coming out of the shower, baggy black pants, shirtless and a towel over his shoulders as it dried his hair. He put the towel away and sat Indian style on his bed. He opened his laptop and stared at the screen, looking at the Word document with the exact same length that it had a few hours ago. He groaned in frustration and close the laptop, tossing it to his side. This was due Monday and he didn't even had half of it! As he looked around his room, his eyes fell on his cell phone and an idea came to his mind. He grabbed the phone and checked his numbers until he found Newt's number. He pressed 'dial' and put his cell phone on his ear, hearing the dialing tone.

_"Hello?"_

A knot formed over his throat and he gulped, feeling very shy all of sudden, "Hey, it's Thomas."

_"Oh, hey, Tommy. Whatcha doing?"_

"Trying to finish my homework. I'm stuck in the essay part. It's impossible."

_"Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'."_

Thomas' eyes widen, "Wow, that's so deep. You should write a book."

He hears Newt chuckle wholeheartedly, _"That was a quote from Audrey Hepburn."_

"Oh," Thomas feels his cheeks getting red, "Yeah, I knew that." he scratches the back of his head in embarrassment, "So, how you're doing with your essay?"

 _"I'm in the middle of it,"_ _I knew it_ , _"Almost done, actually. You need some help?"_

"You don't mind?"

_"No. Maybe as I help you I get to finish mine."_

Thomas chuckles, "Oh, so that's how's gonna be, huh?"

 _"That's how's gonna be, Tommy."_ he blonde chuckles, making Thomas smile wider. He heard a faint voice on the other line and then Newt yelling 'I'm comming!', _"Well, I gotta go. Mom's calling me."_

"Yeah, yeah, don't worry. So... Tomorrow? Let's say early afternoon? Your house, since mine is a contaminated zone right now?"

_"Early afternoon seems perfect."_

"Great, I'll see you tomorrow then."

 _"Great,"_ the brunet heard the blonde take a deep breath, _"Good night, Tommy."_

"G'night, Newt." and the phone call ended. Thomas sighed and putted his phone over his nightstand, together with his laptop.

As he turned off the lights and went to grab his iPod, he heard his parents voices downstairs,

_"Goddamit, Derek! Just eat the soup!"_

"Not until you tell me what's in it!"

"I'm not gonna tell you!"

"Then I'm not gonna eat it!"

"Don't be such a drama queen and eat the _freaking_ soup!"

"You go first!"

"No way!"

"Why not? _You don't eat your_ _own venom?!_ "

Thomas rolled his eyes and grabbed his earphones, putting them on and laying down on his back on his bed, closing his eyes ready to sleep. His dads were gonna be fine. They do this all the time, and in the end they'll end up making out. Thomas trembled, _'Ugh, not a good picture! Not a good picture!'_

 

* * *

 

Early in the morning, Teresa was strolling around her kitchen, making herself a herb tea that was supposed to make her feel better. She poured the hot liquid into a cup and walked towards her living room, inhaling the tea's aroma. As she takes a sip, she hears keys and then the knob twisting. She frowns. _'Why is Thomas here so early? He doesn't like waking up in the morning.'_

Standing beside her couch, she waits for the door to open, and once it does, she sees Minho who at seeing her, feigns surprise and puts a hand over his chest,

"My God! You're _breathtaking_!"

Teresa stares at him, not moving while the Asian stays there on the entrance, "What do you want?" she asks in a firm but annoyed tone.

"I need a favor." he says closing the door behind him.

"Don't you see I'm kind of sick here? And how did you got keys to my-"

"Did you finished your essay?"

"Do I look that I can do anything else besides coughing my lungs out?!"

"I think I should answer that but I don't wannna get in trouble." Teresa huffs and turns around, walking towards her couch, "So, what are you gonna do about it?"

"I already told the teacher I was sick and he gave me one week more."

 _"Aghh! Dammit!"_ he grips his hair in frustration.

"Why don't you ask Thomas to help you?"

"That shank? He must have like 100 or 150 words at the must."

"And what about Newt?"

Minho looks at her, "He's gonna help Thomas with his essay." he wriggles his eyebrows suggestively.

"Wow, how's that gonna work out?" she snorts, "So, how you're doing with the book?"

"Oh! This book is so good!" he goes to the kitchen, opening the fridge, "Hazel is such a sweet girl! And Augustus... He's so a nice guy! I feel bad for him but he has Hazel, so I guess everything will be okay."

Teresa bites her lips and nods, "Yep," and takes a sip from her tea, not looking at the Asian's direction. Boy, what would happen when Minho finishes the book?

 

* * *

 

Opening the door of his house, Newt smiled as he looked at the brunet standing in front of him.

"Thomas, hi."

Thomas entered the house, the door closing behind, "Hey. Sorry if I'm late."

Newt bites his lips and looks behind him at the clock, "Actually, you're a little early."

"Really?" he looked at the clock over the wall, "Well, what are the odds?" he smiled goofily as the blonde walked towards the living room, "I hope your parents won't mind that we're going to do homework in your living room."

"My parents are working. They won't get home until night, so we'll have the house for ourselves."

 _'Oh. That's more how I like it- No! Bad Thomas, bad Thomas!'_ "So, shall we start?"

After a few hours of writing their essays, Thomas felt his head a little dizzy. 'Damn it, I thought I was getting better!' Then he sneezed. Hard and loud. Newt turned to look at him and he frowned, "Are you okay?"

He swallowed hard, "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" the blonde nodded and continued writing on his laptop. For an unknown cruel force, Thomas shivered and it didn't go unnoticed by the blonde.

Newt stood up, "I'm gonna get a glass of water, you want one?"

"Yes, please." as the blonde turned around and went towards the kitchen, Thomas brought a hand to his head.

Newt saw him out of the corner of his eye and pointed at him, " _Aha!_ I saw that!" he walked back to the living room.

"I-I must have caught Teresa's or my dad's cold."

Newt frowns and puts his hands over his hips, "How come you weren't sick until now if you've been near sick Teresa for almost a week?"

Thomas's eyes widen. He licks his lips, trying to find the right words, "Uh,"

The blonde narrows his eyes, "You've been sick all along, weren't you?"

"Umm..."

"At least say something on your behalf!"

"I don't know! I can't lie under stress!" he covers his mouth, "I didn't say anything."

"Yeah, right. You sit right here while I go for something."

Thomas stood up, "Newt, you don't need to-

 _"I say sit!"_ and as a command, Thomas sat like an obedient dog, "Now don't move. Be right back." Newt went upstairs, leaving the brunet alone. He looked around the house, tapping his feet on the floor as he waited for the blonde to return. A few seconds later his phone vibrated in his jeans,

**_'Getting lucky? ;) ' -Min._ **

Thomas groaned, _' **Leave me alone.'**_ he typed back.

**_'So no?' -Min._ **

This idiot. He putted his phone away as he saw the blonde coming downstairs with something in hand. A thermometer.

He held the thermometer to Thomas, who grabs it and puts it in his mouth. A few minutes pass as they wait; Newt looks at the clock and extends his hand to the brunet, who gives him the thermometer.

"Thanks," he looks at it and starts inspecting it.

As he did that, Thomas spaced out, closing his eyes slowly and opening them in a jolt. His head felt a little heavy and his hands were sweaty.

"You're hot."

Thomas smiled, not really paying attention, "Uh, thanks."

Newt looked at him, "I meant your temperature." he said holding up the thermometer.

Thomas feels his face getting red from embarrassment, "Oh." the blonde nods along, "Well, that was not embarrassing at all. Now if you excuse me, I'm gonna go outside and let a truck drive over me." Newt rolled his eyes with a chuckle and put his hands over Thomas's shoulders to stop him from getting up.

"No, no, no, no. You're not going anywhere. Here," he gives him a cushion, "Rest a little." and made the brunet to lie down on the couch.

Thomas' eyelids felt heavy as his head touched the cushion, "I'm just gonna rest my eyes for a couple of minutes, ok? Just for... a couple of minutes."

And then everything became dark.

Sore throat, headache, lethargy and fever. That's what he felt when he opened his eyes again. The house empty, no signs of the blonde around.  Thomas had a blanket wrapped around his body and a now pillow instead of a cushion under his head. Turning his head to the right, he found a note on the coffee table:

_Went to my work to tell them I couldn't work today and also at the drugstore for some pain medicine with a fever reducer. I'll be back soon. Don't even think about going to lacrosse practice. –Newt._

Thomas finds it a little sweet that Newt's so worried, even though there's really nothing to be worried about. It's just a cold.

 

* * *

 

Medicines and tissue boxes over the nightstand and the bed, tissues over the floor next to the trash can and four people over the bed sick. Peter stretched his hand over the nightstand, trying to grab the tissue box and failing. Another hand grabs it and passes it to him.

"Thanks." he says to Malia.

"You're welcome." she then goes beside Lydia and gives her the cup of tea.

The strawberry blonde woman smiles, "Thanks, honey." and takes a sip.

"It's not fair. Malia's not sick." pouted Ethan.

"She's not normal." answered the other twin.

They were currently at Peter's and Lydia's bedroom, lying over the bed with blankets wrapped around them. Malia was the only one who wasn't sick, so she was taking care of her family just like Lydia used to do. The brunet girl moved away the bed tray with four plates of chicken soup and onto the floor.

"How are you all feeling?"

Peter coughs, "I think I see my grandmother." Lydia rolls her eyes, "Yeah, yeah. I know what're you gonna say: _'Men are such babies'_." he coughs again, Lydia giving him a tissue, "Thanks, love."

Malia grabs the blanket and wraps it again over their bodies, "You'll all feel better if you get a little sleep. Now, close your eyes." they did, getting comfortable and Malia started singing to them.

 

_Hush, little baby, don't say a word,_

_Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird_

_And if that mockingbird don't sing,_

_Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring_

 

Peter sighs in relief, "Malia sings so sweetly, and the twins are my pillows. Everyone's good for something."

 

* * *

 

Thomas's body felt like it was made of bricks or something heavier. Really. The lethargy in his limbs was awful; he wanted to move but even his eyelids felt heavy. Oh, well. Who wants to be awake when they're sick, anyways. Maybe he should stay still over the couch and let the cold do it's stuff and then leave. Then he felt it, something cold. A soft hand moving away the wet hair that stuck to his forehead, slowly caressing it. Who was it?

His eyes opened and Thomas found himself looking at the blonde's brown eyes. The hand over his forehead didn't move away nor stopped. While his eyes marveled at the sight of the blonde in front of him, his ears were delighted with a velvet voice.

"Hey there, Tommy."

"Hey," he says with hoarse voice, "What time is it?"

"Almost noon. Why? Do you have another place to go?"

"Yes. I had to go and do an essay with a beautiful blonde guy. Probably he's mad I skipped it. You'll have to explain it to him."

Newt smiles, "I think he'll understand." he stood up, pulling away his hand and gaining a groan from the brunet, "Did you take your pills" Thomas nods, "Are you drinking plenty of fluids?" he nods again, "You want something to eat?"

"No."

"You need to eat. Luckily I made some soup before you woke up." he said as he made his way to the kitchen and grabbed from the counter a bowl. It wasn't until he returned to the living room that Thomas noticed he had an apron on. An apron. _Oh dear God_ , he felt his body getting hotter. Newt sat on the couch beside the brunet and brought spoon to the other's mouth, "Eat."

"Don't wanna."

Newt sighed, "Tommy, don't be a brat and eat."

He huffed, _"Fine."_ and grabbed the bowl, putting it on the table and leaning forward so he wouldn't get the couch soiled.

Newt smiled and stood up, "You need anything else? Glass of water? Another pillow?"

Thomas gazed tiredly at the blonde's face and smiled. His eyebrows were drawn together in worry, his fingers playing with the bottom of the apron and that apron... _Fuck._

"You would make a good housewife." was what escaped from Thomas's mouth in awe.

Newt stared at him, not knowing how to react at it. _Did he heard right?_ Yeah, he did. He breath deep, nodded and went to the kitchen.

"I want you to be it." Newt stopped, but didn't turn around, "You know... my housewife."

The blonde's face was a little flushed, "R-repeat it?" he turned around and Thomas's could see his red face.

Thomas blinked a few times, looking at the blonde confused and then his face turned serious, "I want you to be my housewife."

"Why?"

"Because I want you." he noticed how the blonde began walking back towards him slowly, "You'll take care of me like you're doing now. Cook me whatever I want, sick or not sick." he pointed the apron, "Also you look good in that apron."

Newt stared at him, his eyes wide as they could be and filled with something Thomas couldn't quite point out. His eyes fell on the blonde's lips and he licks his lips unconsciously. Newt sits down next to him, still locking eyes with him. Damn the room was getting hotter or was it the fever? He wanted to lean forward to Newt, but stopped by remembering something: Boundaries, yes. But the blonde was looking at him with those eyes and he couldn't...

"I don't want you to get sick."

Newt slightly shook his head, still looking at Thomas, "I don't care." and then closed the distance between them, his lips touching Thomas's cold ones.

 

* * *

 

Thomas sneezed and grabbed a tissue, bringing it towards his nose. Beside him, someone else coughed and moved around the blanket. Newt had his nose red like Rudolph the reindeer, his hair was disheveled and he was resting beside Thomas's at the brunet's couch, over his house. He sneezed and brought a hand to cover his mouth.

"I told you you would get sick." said Thomas as he passed him a tissue.

Newt grabbed it, "Still you didn't do anything to stop me." he could feel the brunet grinning like an idiot, but he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing it.

 

 

_"The greatest healing therapy is friendship and love." - Hubert H. Humphrey._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if it took a while, too much homework :p  
> But now I'm back, baby! I'll see you in the next chapter~


	10. Prom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God! Not again! I have too much homework, please help! I could barely finish this and then it was difficult to update. Ughh!  
> But well, I managed to do it! Next stop, update my other fic.
> 
> Meanwhile, enjoy this chapter!

Late night over the Hale (Thomas) house, the younger brunet was sat on the couch, looking at the nothing and just thinking. Thinking about certain event that happened a few days ago with certain blonde. Newt had kissed him. While he was taking care of him. Afterwards they didn't talk about it. They didn't know how to talk about it. _'Oh, yeah. Okay, remember I told you I had the hots for you but then you told me to wait and all that crap, so I decided to become a decent human being and then I got sick and you kissed me? What was that about?'_ Nope. Definitely not that. They acted normal after that, nothing awkward at all. Thomas sighed, _'Why is this so complicated?!'_ He couldn't sleep. Those things kept running through his mind.

He heard a rustle coming from the stairs and behind him. Short seconds later, Stiles was approaching the couch in his pajamas.

"Hey, what are you doing up?" he asks as he sits beside Thomas.

"Can't sleep. You?"

Stiles shrugs, "Hm..." he nudges with his leg at Thomas' leg, "I remember when you used to crawl into bed with me when that happened."

Thomas smiled, "Yeah, I thought I'd, uh, spare you tonight."

"Hm. Then you'd end up sprawled out sideways, your feet next to my head, kicking me in the face all night long."

"See, I remember it as you headbutting my feet, actually."

"Really? Then Dad would viciously attack your elbows with his ribs?" Thomas snorts, _"Really?"_

He scratches the bridge of his nose, "Yeah. Sorry about that. Sounds terrible."

Stiles shrugs, "Eh... it was pretty nice. Whatever it took to make you feel safe." he glanced at his son, "Something you wanna talk about?"

"Not really."

Stiles let out a big sigh and leaned his head back, closing his eyes for a moment. Thomas did the same, knowing it was just for a minute and that they would go back upstairs and to their own rooms.

Let's just say the next morning Derek came downstairs to get some breakfast and found his two favorites brunets sleeping deeply -and loudly, as they both snore- on the couch, limbs sprawled all over each other and Thomas' head resting over Stiles' shoulder.

 

* * *

 

Later that day, Thomas and Teresa went to the coffee shop and started talking. She had a chai tea and he an express coffee. Sitting near the windows in a four people seat, waiting for Minho and his girlfriend to arrive. They had also bought some biscuits that were in the middle of the table.

Thomas looked around the place and then at his friend, "I can't believe classes are over."

She nods, "Classes are over. Prom is just a days away and then we'll be seniors." she puts aside her book, "I mean, wow, right?"

"Yeah, life passes by so fast." he looks at her, "Talking about prom... What are your plans for prom?"

"Mm, I don't know. I mean, of course I'll go. You know me; free food and music? I'm in." he chuckles, "But all that thing of going with someone else? No, thanks. I mean, no one has even invited me and not that I want them to. And I wasn't going to ask some guy, you know?" she starts reading again.

"Well, but what if it was with someone you know? A friend, maybe?"

Teresa looked up from her book, an eyebrow up, "Tom, are you trying to ask me to prom?"

"Uh, yeah?"

She lowers the book, looking at her friend, "That's actually so sweet, and don't take me wrong, you're a good friend and you'll kill it in a tuxedo but- but wouldn't you rather go with someone else? Like... someone with blonde hair, brown eyes and an accent?"

Thomas lets out a deep breath, "I'm scared."

"Of what?"

"Of how he'll treat me? What does he think? Is he mad?"

Her eyes widen, "You haven't talk to him since that day?!"

"No."

"You haven't seen him since that day either?"

"No."

"You're such a slinthead."

"Wo- _hey_!" he raises his hands in defense, "I'm human, ok? I get worried about that kind of stuff and can make mistakes."

"I didn't say you couldn't. Just that you were an idiot. If Newt was the one who kissed you, why would he be the one mad?" Thomas stared at the nothing. She was right. She was always right. Damn it all. "So go and talk to him. Sort things out. And ask him to prom." she grabbed her book again and put it in her satchel, "No pain, no gain. You can't make an omelette without cracking some eggs." as she finishes saying that they hear the bell on the top of the door chiming.

They see Minho and Sonya arriving at the coffee shop hand in hand, and walking towards them once they spot them. As Sonya sits and greets them with a smile, Minho plops on his seat and looks directly at Teresa.

"Pardon my French, but Van Houten is an asshole!"

Teresa grins, "Oh, you're already there?"

"Yeah." Sonya looks at her boyfriend with a confused face, "Oh, I'm reading a book Teresa gave me."

"Which book are you reading?"

He smiles, "The Fault In Our Stars." Sonya's eyes widen and she looks over at Teresa. She mouths _'wow'_ and the dark haired girl nods.

"So..." starts the blonde girl, "What are your plans for prom?" she asks with a smile.

Thomas shrugs, "I guess the same as yours." he says looking between them.

Teresa snorts, "So you gonna kiss Minho during the entire prom too?"

"No force on Earth or Heaven could get me to do that."

Minho threw his arm over the brunet's shoulders, " _Ow_ , don't be like that, Tom-boy. I'm still yours~" he tries to kiss his cheek but only manages to get pushed away as the girls laugh at them.

"I suppose you guys already have your tuxedos." Thomas and Minho nodded, "Wow, so my boyfriend got his clothes before me, what does that mean?"

Teresa's Cheshire grin appeared on her face, "Can I tell her?" she asked leaning over Thomas.

"No."

She nodded, "I'm gonna tell her,"

"No, you won't." and they giggled as they heard the Asian mutter 'these dumb shanks'.

"And what about you, Teresa?" she turned to the dark-haired girl, "My cousin has a boutique full of prom dresses. Would you mind going with me? I mean, if you have already a dress."

Teresa shrugs, "I-I don't have any dress."

"You don't?!" Teresa shakes her head and Sonya stands up, "Well, now that I can help with! Okay, you and I are going to check out some dresses and shoes and maybe even make up. But first, the dress." she looks Teresa from head to toes, "Maybe something blue to bring out your eyes, don't you think?"

"Uh, I-

"Great! Come!" she pulls the dark-haired girl up from her seat by the arm and they both leave, running through the door.

Thomas nods, looking at the door, "Well, there they go. And your girlfriend leaved without you. Sad."

The Asian shrugged, grabbing a biscuit, "It's okay. Whenever she has the chance to do something, she'll launch for it."

"Launch? You make her sound like a ship."

Minho takes a bite of the biscuit and answers while chewing, "No, in Sonya's case it's more like an intercontinental ballistic missile." Thomas snorts and nudges him, grabbing a biscuit for himself. "Talking about chances... What about Newt?"

"Oh, God. I swear, you and Teresa are identical."

"Thanks for noticing my shiny and soft hair, dude."

"I'm not talking about that. She says I should go and talk to Newt and even ask him to prom."

"Weren't you gonna do it anyways?"

"Yes, but it was before the whole kiss incident!"

Minho swallows and wipes his mouth, "Okay. First, he kissed you. Not by accident, but by choice. Second, he wouldn't have kissed you if he wasn't interested in you."

"You really think that?"

"Do you think I would kiss you out of the nowhere?"

"Please don't."

Minho grins, "There you go. Go and ask him. I bet you he'll say yes."

 

* * *

 

Over the dress boutique, Sonya was waiting for the dark-haired girl to come out and show her the dress. They had been trying dresses in between talks and laughs for hours.

Sonya looked away from her cell phone, "Are you done?"

_"This dress is too short! I think if I can lean forward a little, I can see the color of my underwear."_ came from the change room.

Sonya chuckled, "Okay, okay. Let me see!"

Teresa came out from behind the curtain and squirmed uncomfortable in the tight black dress ([x](http://rusolclothing.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/short-tight-black-prom-dressesshortmini-prom-dresses---dressmini-iwc2kchi.jpg)) she was wearing, "I think... this is too short and tight for me. I prefer a long one." she tried to pull the dress lower but couldn't.

Sonya grinned, "Don't we all?" they both chuckled at that innuendo, "Try the red one. I left it near the pink one that looks like something Lady Gaga would wear."

"Okay." she turned around and walked back to the change room, closing the curtain. As she changed into the new dress, Minho entered through the back door -with the key Sonya had gave him- and approached his girlfriend.

"Hey, babe." he kissed her cheek, "Found something yet?"

"Not really. I mean, I think I found the one for me, but Teresa hasn't. And I'm devoting myself to help her find the one!"

_"Who are you talking to?"_ asked Teresa.

"Minho's here." the Asian boy waved even thought the other girl couldn't see him.

"Oh, great."

The curtain opened and Teresa stepped forward. She was wearing a long, satiny red dress with a one-shoulder red rose-like strap ([x](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FC9x6mivbfQ/TrnhYYUAaoI/AAAAAAAAAOo/5xZ0E-z7mpA/s640/GleeProm_SantanaDress.jpg))([x](https://fineillwatchglee.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/glee220-0237.jpg)). Her hair was loose and falling over her shoulders. She put a hand on her hip and waited for them to say something.

Minho stared at her with wide eyes and mouth open, "Wow. Teresa, you look-" he cleared his throat, "You look-"

Sony patted her boyfriend's shoulder as she looked at Teresa, "And that, my friend, is how we know we found the perfect dress." she gave her a smile, "You look so gorgeous."

Teresa gave a swirl, "Really?"

Sonya stood up, "Yes. Right, Min?"

_"Uh-_

"See?" they chuckled.

In that moment the phone in the front part of the shop rang,

"Oh, I'll get it! I'll go get it!" she gives Minho a peck and runs behind Teresa, shouting _"Be right back!"_ and disappearing to the front of the shop, a door closing behind. Teresa puts her hands on her hips and stays still as Minho keeps looking at her. He point at her and says,

"If you pick that dress, you're gonna have to dance with me at least once."

Teresa just rolls her eyes while chuckling.

 

* * *

 

The next day Thomas went to the Reed's house in search for Newt but was disappointed in not finding him there. Aunt Allison told him he was over his work, so that's where Thomas went. Standing in front of the flower shop, he took a deep breath and opened the door. The small bell chimed, announcing the arrival of a client, so the brunet went to the empty counter. He looked around the shop; too many flowers, too many colors and aromas. It was a calm and nice place. _'No wonder why Newt works here.'_

"Hello, how can I—

From behind a curtain that covered the back part of the shop, Newt appeared, a smile on his face as he went to greet the costumer. But Newt froze at seeing the brunet standing there in the other side of the counter. They stared at each other, neither saying a word.

"Hey."

Newt blinked a few times before talking, "Hi."

"Your mom told me you were working."

"Yes."

"So I came here."

The blonde rolled his eyes, "Yes, Tommy, I can see that." _'Ok. He called me Tommy, he's not mad. That's a good signal.'_

"Right." he tapped the counter, "So... I'm gonna need some things."

Newt grabbed from his left a wood clipboard and a pen, ready to start writing.

"Okay. I'll have two corsages and one boutonniere."

Newt's eyebrows went up for a moment, but his eyes didn't leaved the board, "Oh, is this for prom?"

"Aha."

The blonde nods, still writing something but more firmly, " _Oh._ Okay,"

"One of the corsages is red roses. It's for Teresa." Newt nods and continues, "The other is white carnation. And the boutonniere is a lily."

"Okay," the blonde finishes writing and disappears into the back of the shop. A few minutes later he returned with the flowers and the materials he needed, dropping them over the counter. He dragged a three-legged stool and sat over it, starting his work.

Thomas just stood there, looking around as the blonde's long fingers worked. He shook his head, "So, are you planning on going?"

"To prom?" he asks, glancing quick at the brunet as he nods, "Yeah, why not?"

"Oh, is just that I... You didn't told us and I-we, we were wondering. Just that."  he scratched his neck.

"Why are you nervous, Tommy? Does it have something to do about you ignoring me?" he said holding up a pair of scissors, looking at the guy in front of him with a piercing glare.

The brunet eyed the scissors and then at the blonde, "Uh, allergies?" he swallowed hard.

Newt smiled and chuckled, cutting a part of the ribbon of the corsage, "Come on, Thomas. I'm not stupid. I know I made you uncomfortable by kissing you when you were sick, but-

Thomas's eyes widen, "No, no! No, it didn't made me feel uncomfortable! It made me be a lot of things, but never uncomfortable!"

"Then why-

"Because I thought you were the one uncomfortable!"

"Why would I be the one uncomfortable if _I_ was the one who kissed _you_?"

"I-" he stopped, "don't know how to answer that."

"You're such a dork." and with that he finished. He typed numbers on the calculator and turned to the brunet, "That'll be $65.98, please."

Thomas took out his wallet and paid. Newt put inside small boxes the corsages and the boutonniere. The brunet looked at the blonde, "So, we're okay?" the blonde smiled as he ripped out a paper and gave it to the brunet.

"Here's your receipt." he then grabbed one of the boxes, "In here is the one of red roses." he gives Thomas the small box, "The boutonniere and the other corsage." and holds out two more.

Thomas puts two of the boxes on the counter and opens the one with the carnation corsage ([x](http://www.levusboutique.com/uploads/2/2/9/4/22948910/s358455600299534236_p569_i1_w300.jpeg)). He looks at it, as if he were inspecting it. With a questioning frown he asks "Could you lend me your arm for a moment?"

Newt looks at him with an equal frown but complies. Stretching his arm out, he feels Thomas' hand closing above his wrist, looking between the corsage and his hand. He looked like he was trying to compare something. Before he could ask what was he doing, in a swift yet gentle move, Thomas slides the corsage on the blonde's wrist.

"Will you go to prom with me?"

Newt looks at him thunderstruck, eyes wide and mouth open. His heart starts hammering to fast on his chest and he can feel the blood rushing to his face. Thomas continues looking at him, still holding his arm gently. The blonde glances at his wrist and back. _'This bugger.'_ he thinks.

A smile appeared on his face as he withdrawn his hand from the brunet's grasp, "Yes."

Thomas smiled too -internally freaking out- and grabbing the other two boxes, he walked towards the door.

Newt grabs his wrist, looking at the corsage, "You couldn't just ask it the simple way, couldn't you?"

"Where's the fun in that?" said the brunet flashing a grin before leaving. Newt shook his head in disbelief but a soft smile appeared on his face.

 

* * *

 

The day -more like the night- of the prom, Thomas had just finished dressing (x) when there was a knock on his door. Looking once more at the mirror, he granted permission to enter his room. Stiles opens the door and looks at the younger brunet,

"How do I look?"

"Handsome." he walks towards his son, "Very, very handsome."

"Thanks." and looks back at the mirror, putting on the boutonniere ([x](http://www.lousflorist.com/images/FTD_W17-4250.jpg)).

Stiles narrowed his eyes, "You look nervous."

"Really? Why would that be?"

He shrugs, looking at his hand, "I don't know. Maybe because you'll become a senior. Maybe because you're actually wearing a suit that doesn't make you look like a penguin. Maybe," he glances at his son, "it's because the one you like is going to be there."

Thomas stills and then turns to look at his father, who has an eyebrow up and a smirk on his face. The younger brunet swallows, "Uh," he says pointing at the door, "I'm going to wait downstairs." and walks towards it, following the other brunet's gaze. He hurries away, obviously uncomfortable with whatever Stiles could say to him.

Stiles smirks, exiting the room as he talks to himself, _"We should leave our children alone, don't meddle into their lives. It's bad."_ he mock-quotes some parenting magazines as he goes downstairs, _"Leave them hide personal things and just knuckle under."_ he snorts, "Knuckle under, my ass."

Once in the living room, Thomas sighs and sits on the couch. His pops was right; he was nervous. But what for? It was just a prom. Music, food, dances, crowning of the King and Queen, etc. No big deal. Yet he felt sort of happy he would be able to dance with the blonde.

_"Hey,"_

He heard his dad's voice and found Derek walking towards the living room, a cold beer and a bowl of popcorn on each hand. He sat on the other side of the couch, putting the things on the coffee table.

"Which time was your friend come and pick you up?"

"Minho isn't driving me. We are meeting Minho and his girlfriend at the prom. Teresa, Newt and I are going in Teresa's car."

"Aww, Allison's son is going too?" said Stiles as he came down and went to the kitchen.

"Yes."

A car claxon was heard, interrupting their talk.

"That must be Teresa." he said standing up and going to the door. He turns around to face his dad, "Don't you think it's a little embarrassing to have your son's best female friend come and pick him up because he don't have a car?"

Derek stared at him, "I'll live with it." Thomas groans and opens the door, revealing the dark-haired girl with her red dress. She smiled at Derek,

"Hi, Mister Hale. I've come to take your son."

"Please tell me you'll take him far away."

"Very funny, dad." said Thomas as he pushed Teresa, exiting the house.

"I'm not joking."

_"See you later!"_

 

* * *

 

Arriving at the school and after parking the dark-haired girl's car, Thomas, Newt and Teresa entered the building, going directly to the auditorium. There were a lot of people; students and teachers mingled, some already dancing and others scattered around the place. There was music with a good and cheap band they hired a month ago, a food table with all kind of snacks, typical prom decorations, and stroboscopic lights.

 

_I'm gonna pop some tags_

_Only got twenty dollars in my pocket_

_I- I- I'm hunting, looking for a come-up_

_This is fucking awesome_

 

"It looks beautiful." said Teresa, looking around the place.

"Yeah," said Thomas looking at Newt, who wasn't paying attention, "It does." Before he continued marveling over how good Newt looked in a tuxedo, he turned to the dark-haired girl, "Before I forget... Got you a little something." he present her a small box.

"Aww, Tom, you didn't had to- I'm joking, _gimme_!" she snatched the box from his hands and opened it, taking out the corsage ([x](http://www.flowersbylucy.ie/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/e757be34b4130e1fd27f58b220e19c5d/i/m/imageload_44__1.jpg)), "Aww, Thomas."

"Yeah, I bought two corsages few days ago."

"Two?" she asks putting it on her wrist. Before he could answer, the blonde's voice saved him.

"I found Minho."

"Where?"

Newt pointed behind them, and as they turned around, they saw the Asian boy walking towards them. He was wearing a sky blue jacket, white button shirt, black pants and a black bow-tie. He had a white boutonniere on his jacket ([x](http://picture-cdn.wheretoget.it/n4sgih-l.jpg)).

Teresa nods at him, "Nice suit."

"Sonya wanted us to have matching colors clothes, so..." he points at his body, "Here I am."

"And where is she?"

Minho holds his hand and starts counting backwards. 3, 2, 1...

"Hey, guys! You made it!" said Sonya behind her boyfriend, a red cup on hand. She was dressed in a light blue prom dress with sheer straps and sparkles on the bust ([x](http://www.newdresses2015.com/wp-content/uploads/quinn-glee-blue-prom-dress.jpg)) and her hair in a half ponytail. "Wow, Thomas, Newt. You look good."

"Thanks."

"Thanks."

She continues smiling and then something catches her eye, "Oh, is that a carnation?" she asked, looking at the wrist corsage of Newt. They all look at it too.

"Um, yeah. It is."

"It's so lovely. You bought it or did someone gave it to you?"

Thomas could feel Teresa's eyes on him, eyeing him suspiciously before her eyes widen. She's about to say something but Minho interrupts her,

"What are we waiting for? Let's dance!"

And they went to the dance floor; the music was loud and people were dancing all over the place, even some teachers. That was a weird sight. But Thomas couldn't care less. He just wanted to dance with his friends.

 

_"Oh, don't you dare look back._

_Just keep your eyes on me."_

_I said, "You're holding back, "_

_She said, "Shut up and dance with me!"_

 

Thomas couldn't be more happy. He was surrounded by the people he cared about. The party continued, the music always making someone dance. Minho had even asked Teresa to dance once. Her face turned red like her dress but she shook it off. Sonya went and danced with her friends, Brenda and Harriet, on the other side. He himself had ask one dance to Teresa, even though he was dying to dance with the blonde. But he wanted to wait for a slow dance. After they crowned the King and Queen of prom and everyone applauded happily at them, Thomas went to the snacks table for some punch. Newt was already there, a red cup on his hand.

"Having fun?"

He smiled, "Absolutely."

"Well, it will just get better." at the blonde's frown he continued, "Apparently, you made an impression to everyone in here. Including the teachers, so Miss Paige ask me to give these to you." his hand went to check on his pocket, "On behalf of the class, the teachers and the whole school in general," he raises two tickets, "I'd like to present you with two gift certificates-

Teresa and Minho pass beside them and she grabs one gift certificate from his hand, "Thanks, shank!"

"Yo, peace!" says Minho making the 'peace sign' and running behind Teresa, both of them chuckling.

The blonde chuckles. Thomas also chuckles and looks at Newt's eyes, " _One_ gift certificate to the Walker Brothers Pancake House."

"Thanks."

In that moment, a soft music started filling the whole room ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad7ejBn3KSQ%20)), making the students stop dancing and look at the stage, where the same man stood, holding a microphone.

"Okay, so this time let's change the rhythm a little bit, shall we?"

_You're in my arms, and all the world is calm_ \- Thomas extends his hand to Newt, saying 'shall we?' as the blonde nods, taking his hand. They go towards the dance floor, walking slowly as the couples around them started dancing too. They arrived at the center of the floor and looked at each other, letting go of their hands as they did that. Thomas took a step forward, grabbing the blonde's hand and intertwining their fingers, making Newt follow all of his movements even if he felt he didn't knew what he was doing.

_A life goes by,_ \- Newt puts his hand over the brunet's shoulder and they start dancing, looking at each other. Newt smiles for a moment, making Thomas smile too. One step forward and one step back, sometimes two forward, moving around the room. It felt like a waltz. The slow music making Thomas's head lighter or maybe it was the blonde in front of him? He slowly swirls Newt, the blonde's back pressing against his chest as he grabs his hands and they do little turns around. Minho looks at them as he dances with Sonya, rolling his eyes. _Those shanks are pretty obvious_ , he thought. Teresa from the snacks table thought that too.

_So close to reaching_ \- Thomas keeps turning around with Newt until they stop, the brunet letting go of him as Newt swirls around by himself. He stops and looks at Thomas, who grabs his hand again and puts the other one at his waist; Newt putted his free hand at the brunet's shoulder.

"And now you're beside me..." sings Thomas, looking at the blonde's eyes, "And look how far we've come." Thomas then leans his head, pressing slightly at the blonde's temple, _"So far we are."_ he whispers, making Newt close his eyes, _"So close..."_ the blonde put his hand over his shoulder.

It felt like there was no one at the room with them, just the two of them, dancing slowly. Just like those romantic movies Aunt Lydia watched. Thomas swirled him again, never letting go of his hand. Snow-flake's like confetti was pouring down all over the dance floor and over the people. But that didn't interrupted Thomas and Newt, who were smiling at each other as they danced. He swirled Newt around and around and then he grabbed him by the waist, lifting him and swirling them, Newt's beautiful smile never leaving his face. Thomas then put him down at the floor, just in front of him. Their eyes locked, both reaching at the other close as if they were going to kiss.

_Oh how could I face the faceless days_ \- A hand appears over Thomas's shoulder, interrupting them, making him look behind at Brenda ([x](http://www.dhresource.com/0x0s/f2-albu-g1-M01-F7-45-rBVaGVRWGRKALJ9TAAYYrz9v9mY261.jpg/short-prom-dresses-2015-new-tight-fashion.jpg)).

"Can I dance too?" she asks.

Thomas looks at Newt who nods, "Of course." he says. Thomas let's go of Newt's hand, making the blonde feel his hand cold again. As he walks back to the stairs, he sees as Thomas takes away Brenda, smiling at her.

_We're so close to reaching_ \- They start dancing, just like the rest of the people there. Newt can only look at them from the stairs, feeling a lump at his throat and his chest compacting. He's not sure why he felt like that. He didn't remember the last time he felt like this, his bloody eyes were watering.

Teresa noticed him at the stairs and approached him, "Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah." managed to spill out the blonde.

She looked at him and said, "I'll go for my purse." and then leaved. Newt hugged himself, looking at the dance floor once last time. He knew it wouldn't hurt. _He was wrong_.

_So close_ \- Newt looks in awe as Brenda leans her forehead at Thomas's own, closing her eyes as she did that. The brunet did too, leaning so his head was beside her face; he kissed her cheek softly, making Newt hold his breath. A tear slipped down his cheek as the couple reassumed their dancing, joining the rest of the couples there.

Seconds later, the blonde and the dark-haired girl disappeared from the prom.

 

* * *

 

"Hey, Min. You've seen Newt?" asked Thomas a few minutes later at the Asian boy. When the song ended, Brenda thank him and leaved. He turned to look for the blonde, but couldn't find him. A little, but just a little worried, he went to his best friend to see if he had seen him. Minho was sitting at one of the tables, Sonya at his side.

"No, man." Sonya shook her head too.

Thomas growls and looks around again. Here was he?  He wasn't at the bathrooms, nor at the dance floor, nor the snacks table. He wasn't outside. He checked all those places. Twice! Maybe he could ask Teresa, but he couldn't find her either! _Uugh!_ Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Teresa entering the place. _When did she leave? That's why I couldn't find her._

She locked eyes with him and frowned, "You're unbelievable." she said as she passed beside him and towards the snacks table. Thomas frowned at that and followed her.

"What do you mean?"

As she's pouring some punch, she says without looking at him "You go and give your big speech about your so-called crush on him, and wanting to change for good but then you go and kiss someone else!" she glares at him, "You're unbelievable." and drinks her punch.

Thomas frowned, "Kiss?!"

"Yes! In the cheek! Brenda?!"

The brunet's frowns disappeared, "Oh. _That_."

Teresa crosses her arms, "Yeah, _that._ Really, Tom. I don't understand how you can be so dumb sometimes?"

"You don't understand! It was a misunderstanding!" he took air so he could explain, "She asked me if we could dance the next song, but I told her I was going to dance with Newt and she said it was okay. Once the song came to an end, she said thanks and then leaved to go with her friends. I turned around but I couldn't... couldn't find Newt." he knew he shouldn't have danced with Brenda. Even if Newt said it was okay. _"Please, Teresa."_

He pleaded with puppy eyes, those he knew people couldn't resist at all. Nor his parents. Nor his aunts and uncles. Much less his friends. He learned that when he was five. Teresa stared at him and sighed, holding up her car keys, "If there's a single scratch no matter the cause, I myself will rip your balls and thrown them where no one can find them."

He took them with a smile, "Good that." and stormed out of the ball.

 

* * *

 

Over his house, Newt had taken off his tuxedo and changed into a white shirt and black boxers. When he arrived, his parents were out. 'Maybe a date or movie night, since I was at prom.' he thought. It was okay. They probably would ask him how was prom and he was not in the mood. He sat on his bed and eyed the wrist corsage over the desk. He sighed and let down his head.

_"NEWT!"_

He raised his head and frowned, looking around his room. That sounded like his name. Weird. Maybe he was imagining things.

_"NEWT!"_

There was it again! It was his name. He walked towards his window and opened it. Looking down he saw Thomas standing there, still in his tuxedo and breathing heavily. He looked worried.

Newt frowned, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the ball with _Brenda_?"

Before Thomas could say anything in defense, something hit him like a baseball. He looked up again at the window, "You're not... _jealous_? Are you?" even in the veil of the night, Thomas could tell the blonde blushed.

"As if!" Newt turned around with his arms crossed, half his body hidden inside his room and the other at the brunet's view.

"Fine! Because there's nothing to be jealous about!"

Newt shrugged, "Yeah, whatever."

"So, are we cool?" no answer. "Newt?" still no answer, so the brunet raised his voice, " _Newt!_ Will you forgive me for being a douche bag?" the blonde still had his back turned to the brunet, _"NEWT! WILL. YOU. FORGIVE. ME?!"_

_"Dear God, someone shut him up!"_ yelled a neighbor, then a window closed.

_"Just say 'yes' to the boy! We want to sleep in here!"_ they hear a female voice coming from Newt's neighbor.

Newt looked down at the other boy, "I can be here all night." he said with a cheeky smile.

"Ok, ok, ok! _Yes!_ I forgive you!" Thomas smiled, "Now go before someone shoots you."

"I know. You wouldn't like that." and with that, Thomas ran before the blonde himself could throw something at him. Newt saw him drive Teresa's car and leave. _Of course I wouldn't like that, you idiot._

 

 

_"Love isn't something you find. Love is something that finds you." - Loretta Young._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments? Love it? Kind of? I just hope you like it. I'll see you soon.


	11. The Kids Are All Right

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry! I was gonna update yesterday but I spent my best friend's birthday with her; we went to have breakfast, then to the movies, have dinner and at the end we had a sleepover at her house. And I didn't brought my laptop so I couldn't upload the chapter. But today I went to my house for my laptop and got back to my friend's house, where I'm currrently at.
> 
> So, as I'm on a very good mood I'm going to leave this chapter here and hope you enjoy it~  
> This chapter is dedicated to "RavenNewtmasHowl" and "Afuri", I love you both and thanks for your kind words!

Over the Hale's (Malia) house, Lydia was over her bedroom, packing clothes and some things for hers and Peter's second honeymoon. They had been planning it for months and now it was the time. Their children weren't as little as they used to be.

"Okay. Passports, money, sunglasses, sunscreen, swimsuits-" she holds up two types of swimsuits, "Bikini or bathing suit?" she looks at the black and red bikini; she then looks at her body and shrugs, "Sure, why not." and puts the bikini inside the suitcase.

Hearing an animalistic growl on the other side of the house, Lydia frowned. Then she heard a crash and then,

_"What are you doing here, you tweebs!"_ _'Thank you, Kim Possible'_ thought Lydia as she made her way to where the voices came.

_"We were just watching TV!"_

Entering Malia's room she found the twins and Malia on each side of the bed, the girl seem to be about to murder the twins. The brunet girl growled again and launched to the bed, trying to grab one of the twins by the shirt but they jumped back.

"Stop fighting!"

Malia turned to her, "They are my nemesis!"

"At least we were planned!" said the twins at the same time. Malia managed to grab Aiden and starts pulling him towards her, with Ethan trying to release him.

Lydia goes over the bed and separates them forcefully, "Nobody was planned!" they all frown/pout. Then, the door bell rings, "Now, you'll have to behave. I'll go and open the door." and she turns around to go downstairs.

Opening the door she found the older brunet standing there.

"Oh, hey, Stiles." she moved aside to let him in, "Just in time. I was about to ask you a favor."

"That's curious, as I was going to do the exact same thing."

"What are the odds." they went to the living room and sat on the couch.

"You go first."

"Okay." she cleared her throat, "As you may know, Peter and I were planning a second honeymoon. And we finally got the time and we're leaving today, in just a couple of hours. And we wanted to as Derek and you if you could take care of Malia and the twins?" the brunet winced and bite his lip, making the woman frown, "What?"

"Actually, that's why I'm here. See, Derek and I had planned a romantic getaway this weekend."

Lydia smiled, "Aw, that's so cute. Ah, no! _Shoot!_ " she said after his words dawn on her.

He grimaced, "Yeah. I should've told you sooner."

"No, no. It's not your fault. I didn't told you either."

"So? What are gonna do-

Their conversation is interrupted when the front door opens, revealing Thomas. He sees his dad and aunt,

"Oh, hey pops. I just came to give Malia her iPod back. Why are you here alone?"

"What do you mean alone? Your dad is at the car."

Thomas frowns, "He was?" he opens the door again to go outside to check on his dad, but when the door is open, Derek is already standing there, together with Peter, _"Oh my God!"_ he says startled by his dad, moving aside to let them in.

Once inside, the four adults look at each other. Peter turns to Lydia, "So? You ask him?

Lydia crossed her arms, "You have to hear this." she nods at Stiles.

The older brunet sighs, "We are also leaving for this weekend."

"What?"

Malia came downstairs, her hair in a bun, "Hey, I heard a lot of voices. What's going on?" she stood beside Thomas.

"They're deciding in which foster home or neighbor house they'll leave us." he said.

Malia looks at them with wide eyes, "I will bite my way out of there. And you know I will." Thomas points at her, as if saying she's got a point.

Lydia rolls her eyes, "No one is going to send anybody anywhere. We just need to figure this out. Maybe Scott can-"

"Tried already." said Stiles, "He's going to be busy over the vet clinic as Deaton is going to Japan. Some rich guy ask for him... something about his fox pet."

"What about Allison?" asked Peter.

"Tried already. She and Andrew are busy too." answered Lydia.

Derek cleared his throat, "So? What are we gonna do?"

"Why don't you let them stay alone in our house?" everyone looked back at Stiles, "I mean it.  Malia and the twins can stay here if you want. The twins can be in the guest room and Malia can sleep in our bedroom."

"Really?" asked Lydia not too sure of the idea.

"Come on, Lydia. Malia's nineteen. And Thomas is almost eighteen. Don't you think they're big enough to be responsible?" Lydia and Stiles turn to look at them. In return, both teens look at them and nod.

Lydia sighs, "Okay." they smile, "Just because I trust you, guys. And you too Stiles." he nods, "Okay then. It's settled." Malia and Thomas looked at each other.

As Lydia turned to Peter, Derek leaned near Stiles, "You're risking your neck here, you know."

"Yeah, but they're gonna be fine. Don't you think so?" when the older man grimaced, he nudged him, saying _'oh, what'd you know, you sourwolf.'_

 

* * *

 

As Lydia and Peter were preparing all the things into the car, Malia had decided to make a suitcase for the weekend then get back to study. Her exam was next week and she was so nervous she thought her hair was gonna fall. Shaking her head, she continued. A knock on her door startled her, and then Peter entered her room,

"Can I come in?"

"Yes."

"I was going to tell you that we're about to leave. What are you doing?" he asked, looking at the notebook on her desk.

"I'm studying for my exam. It's next week."

"Oh, right. Nervous?"

Malia smiles before looking at her sheets, "A little. I'm stuck in this question."

"Well, maybe I can help you-

_"Malia, please help me with the suitcases!"_ they heard Lydia yell.

Malia sighs and stands up, dropping her pencil over the desk and she exits her room, going downstairs. Peter just stands there until his eyes fall on the notebook. He puts a hand over is mouth and then grabs the notebook, reading the exercise Malia was solving. 'It can't be that bad.'

"The sum of the areas of the shaded regions in terms of 'D' is equal to A, 'D' squared times the sum of pi divided by four minus 'D' divided by two. B, 'D' squared times the sum of pi cubed divided by 'D' minus two." he frowns, "Now, what is pi again? Three-point- _something_? This is ridiculous. I've never used pi. Malia's never gonna use pi! _Why is it called pi anyway?_ " his phone rings. He sighs and takes it out, answering it, "Whoever this is, thanks for saving me."

 

* * *

 

Finally finished packing, Peter and Lydia went and leaved Malia and the twins over Thomas' house. After the goodbyes, they leaved. A few hours later, Stiles and Derek leaved too, leaving the teenagers alone. Malia stayed on the house with the twins, studying while the Ethan and Aiden were watching TV. Thomas decided to go out with his friends, so he texted Teresa & Minho.

After a few minutes later, over the coffee shop, Thomas and Minho were waiting for Teresa to arrive. Once they saw her entering the shop and going to order some coffee, Minho turned to the brunet,

"So no parents, huh?" said Minho with a grin.

"No, I know that look. I can't do anything stupid or that gets me in trouble."

Minho raised his hands in defense, "Okay, okay." he looked at his side and then back again, "Hey, want to do something not harmful at all? You know, since there's no parents."

"Even if it's not harmful, I can't. I'm broke. Like, literally no money."

"Did you used all your money because of certain blonde guy with an accent?" asked Teresa as she sat beside them, chai tea on hand.

Thomas stays still, looking at the girl, "Maybe."

Minho put an arm around his shoulder, "Don't worry, shank. We have your back. Don't we, T?"

"Absolutely."

"The only thing we ask is for you to name your kids after us, that's all." Thomas batted his arm away as his friend laughed.

 

* * *

 

Arriving late in the night at his house, Thomas went directly to his bedroom. He saw no lights on his dads bedroom so he assumed Malia was already asleep. Good sign. The guest room too, so the twins were knocked down. He opened the door and entered his room, only to find Malia lying on his bed with the remote control on hand, changing the channels of the TV.

Thomas frowned, "What are you doing here?"

She looked at him and then back at the TV, "I'm sleeping here."

_Oh, no. Hale no._

"Wait, what? No, no, no. You have an entire bed for yourself on my dads room."

"Your bed is more comfy than the one in their room. Besides, I don't wanna sleep in the same bed your parents get intimate."

"Thanks for reminding me that my parents still have sex." says Thomas as he shudders, "There's no way I'll sleep in that one either. Now, go away."

"Don't be such a baby, Thomas."

The brunet can't even formulate a decent sentence as he walks towards the bed and takes away the control of Malia's hand, turning off the TV. He groans, "I'm not being a baby! I just want to sleep in _my_ bed!"

"It's just for two days. You'll survive."

"Then go to the guests room!"

"The twins are already there. Sleeping."

"Then go over the couch."

"That's no way to treat a lady."

"I don't see one in here!"

Malia glared at him, crossing her arms, "I'm not leaving."

He crossed his arms too, "Fine."

"Fine."

_"Fine!"_

_"Fine!"_

 

* * *

 

Both Thomas and Malia were at the bed; Malia was under the covers on the right side, her back to Thomas as the brunet was sitting watching TV, changing through the channels to see if there was something decent. Infomercial. Infomercial. Porn. Some series rerun. Porn. Porn. Bloody movie. Old cowboys movie. Porn. Wow, there was a lot of porn.

"Could you please turn that thing off?" said Malia, her eyes still closed.

"I'm not sleepy." answered Thomas.

"Well, I am. Turn that off."

"But this is my bedroom!"

"So?"

Thomas gritted his teeth, glaring at the girl's head. He sighed resignedly and took the remote control, turning off the TV. He lay down on bed, both of them with their backs facing each other's ([x](http://37.media.tumblr.com/1db5d58a757cefe62f292c9152383c39/tumblr_na00mxX1QK1qixosbo3_500.gif)).

Thomas sighed as he looked at the wall in front of him. He felt like he needed to talk to someone. To ask that question he've been keeping to himself. He didn't feel too much confident to ask his parents nor a close friend. He looks behind his shoulder at the girl's hair, "Malia?"

"I'm gonna kill you." she murmurs as she turns around to look at the brunet, "What?"

"Have you ever been in love?"

Malia blinks a few times, "Well, I must say that's a weird and awkward question when you are sharing bed with your cousin, don't you think?"

Thomas sits up, still looking at her, "Yeah, I know. But what I meant was... Have you?"

Malia, still with her face over the pillow, thought about it for a minute, looking at the covers. She then looked at Thomas, "No. I don't think so. Why?"

Thomas thought so. Well, at least he tried. "Nothing important. G'night." he was about to lie down on bed again when Malia's hands prevent him to do it so.

"No, no, no. You don't get to deprive me of getting some sleep, ask me an awkward question, and then blow this off when I ask you about it." she said as she now sat too, just beside the brunet, "Now you will tell me. Come on."

Thomas rolled his eyes, gesturing with his hands at the room as if trying to find where to begin, "I... I needed to ask someone so I would be sure that what I feel is that. Or if it's just a silly crush, or having the hots for them."

She nudges his side, "Who is it?"

Thomas knew she would ask that. Well, there wasn't any warm in letting her know, "Newt."

"Aunt Allison's son?" she asked with a high pitch tone. Thomas nodded as he saw a smile escape from her lips, "Wow. I-I mean, if you told me it was your friend Teresa that wouldn't be that shocker, she has always been with you." Thomas rolls a bit his eyes. Everybody thought they were a couple because they were always together. But she was the sister he didn't have. Like Malia. "So? What do you feel?"

"I-I don't know. I mean, he makes me happy. And wonder if he's okay, where he is," he scratches the back of his head, "I always find myself thinking about him, and his smile. His soft, blond hair. His accent," as he goes on talking about the blond, a smile appears on his face. Malia hugged her legs, resting her face over her knees, still paying attention to the brunet, "-and that. So? What'd you think, Dr. Freud?"

"Well, in my opinion I think you should be wondering how many children you wanna have with him," Thomas groans, grabbing a pillow and hitting his head into it, "But... I think that's cute." he looks at her, "You know, that you have real feelings for him and all that."

He smiles at her, "Thanks."

"You're welcome." she lies down on the bed again, "But next time when you're having a love crisis, please wait until next morning, okay? Now I want to sleep."

"Just so you know, I snore."

"If you snore, I'll smother you."

 

* * *

 

_"Thomas. Thomas."_

Over Thomas' bedroom, the brunet was still sleeping soundly at his bed. He was sprawled under the blue covers, all the bed for himself 'cus Malia had woken up like an hour ago. She was currently trying to wake him up.

"Thomas." Nothing. " _Thomas_. Hey, Thomas." she moves his shoulders but nothing, "You need to get up." she moves harder, making him groan. Instead of waking up, he turns around ([x](http://media.tumblr.com/e11af01f746bd442b2b5893d08fac67a/tumblr_inline_nbtiekWvRZ1qik2ew.gif)).

" _Thomas!_ Breakfast is ready." she tries to move him again which make the brunet mumble something like '5 more minutes' and swaying his hand at her. She sighs, "Okay. You leaved me no choice." she pats her knees as she straightens herself and leaves the room. A few moments later the twins rush into the room giggling, holding their Nerf guns as they ran to Thomas's bed and pull the trigger, wetting all his face and part of his bed.

Thomas lets out a _"Ghaa!"_ as he sits up, wiping his face and looks at the backs of the twins as they run outside the bedroom, "Oh, you better run you munchkins!" he gets out of bed in a hurry, running behind the little imps.

 

* * *

 

Minho arrived at his apartment, two boxes of pizza on hands. The gang was waiting at his place, and he bet they were hungry. Maneuvering into taking out his keys and opening the door, Minho entered his apartment. Newt and Sonya were sitting around the table writing on notepads while Thomas is looking over their shoulders. Teresa is over the fridge, taking out a Dr. Pepper.

"Hey! _Whassup!_ " they all shushed him, eyes still on the pads. Minho closed the door, "Oh, okay. I didn't knew we changed our way of communicating between each other." he went to the counter to put down the pizza.

Thomas rolls his eyes at him, "No, we're playing this game I learned at work. You have to name all the states in six minutes."

Minho snorts, "What? That's like so easy."

"Now, that's a lot harder than it sounds. You always forget at least one, or in some cases..." he looks over at Teresa, "fourteen."

The Asian looks at her, "You forgot fourteen states?!"

Teresa looked between embarrassed and angry, "Nobody cares about the Dakotas!" and goes to the couch.

Thomas looks at the time on his phone, and claps, "Oh, okay, time's up!" the others stop writing.

Newt checks his pad, leaning back on the chair, "All right, I got 48."

Thomas smiles, "Oh that's not bad. Sonya?"

The blonde girl puts a strand of hair behind her ear, "Oh, I got tired of naming states, so I decided to list the types of colors." she looks at the brunet, "This might take a while."

"Okay, so Newt's got 48 and Sonya's got the lead at... the one with the colors..." he turns to Minho, "Minho, wanna try?"

"You bet your sweet ass I do." he sits and grabs a pad. As he starts writing, Thomas looks at his watch and then goes to the couch, sitting there as Sonya and Newt watch over Minho, who swats his hand at them to leave him alone. Teresa sits beside him on the couch, holding out a Dr. Pepper. He thanks her as he grabs it.

Teresa starts, "So? Any plans for today and tomorrow? Maybe go and watch a movie?"

"No money, remember?"

" _Aww_ , don't worry, Tom. I won't be angry at paying a guy's ticket, you know that." Thomas groans, "A movie marathon at my place? Or even here, you know. So Newt can be here."

The brunet's eyes fall over the kitchen, where Newt was talking to the blonde girl. Newt seemed to noticed he saw being observed as his eyes locked into Thomas', still talking to Sonya. Thomas swore he saw a small smile appear on his face before his sight was blocked by a body.

"Done." said Minho, throwing the pad on the coffee table.

Teresa smiles, "Wow, that was fast." Thomas shakes his head and grabs the pad, checking it.

"You know, I hate to lecture you guys, I really do," everyone in that room rolls their eyes, "but it's kinda disgraceful that a group of well-educated young adults and Teresa-" the dark haired girl flips him, "can't name all the states." oh no, cocky Minho is here, "Did you ever see a map? Or one of those round, colorful things called 'a globe'? _Hmm?_ " he crosses his arms over his chest.

"Uh, _Magellan_?" says Thomas with a grin, "You got 46 states." and hands Minho back his pad.

The Asian holds it and reads it, "What? That's impossible."

"Who's the well-educated young adult now, huh said Teresa smirking at him. Sonya laughed from the kitchen. Thomas stood up and went to the kitchen, right beside Newt. Sonya went to the bathroom, leaving them alone.

"Hey,"

Newt smiles, "Hey," he nods at Minho, "You think he'll get the ones he's missing?"

Thomas looks at his direction, "Nah, he lost the minute he saw he didn't had the 50 in the first try." the blonde chuckles.

A couple of seconds passed until Newt talked again, "So... Teresa said you were going to be with no parents this weekend."

"Yeah, that's right." an idea came into Thomas' mind and he smirked. He acted nonchalantly as he talked, "Malia and the twins are staying at my house since their parents had to leave too. Full house. And I have to feed the evil twins and a hungry coyote, not to mention myself. And I have to mention that I'm not a very good cook," Newt eyed him, "And I can't ask Teresa as she has her on things, or Minho since he is-" he points at the living room, the Asian throwing his pencil onto the floor and pouting, "So... Maybe, if it isn't too much trouble, you can come to my house?" Newt's eyebrows shot up, "You know, for safety, so I don't burn the house or something."

Newt nods, biting his lips and thinking about it for a moment, "Well, if it's for safety so you don't burn the house down then I guess I'll be there." Thomas was internally freaking out, "I'll just have to go to my house and tell my mom. Her phone is kind of malfunctioning right now, so..."

"Ok, ok. I'll wait. In fact, I need to go right now, to prepare everything." he looks at his watch, "Okay Min, time is up."

The Asian holds up a finger, "No, just give me another minute."

"Look Min, if you don't know them by now, you will never know them, okay?" he turns to look at Newt, "That is the beauty of this game: It makes you want to kill yourself." he says with a smile, making the blonde chuckle.

"This-this is crazy! I can do this! All right, uhh, I bet I can get all 50 before dinner." he says looking at the brunet.

Thomas shrugs, "Okay, but if you can't... no pizza!"

"You're on!"

 

* * *

 

An hour later, Thomas was at his house, preparing everything for making dinner. God really existed; Malia had decided to take the twins to one of their friend's house as she went to Kira's, leaving Thomas the house for himself. But she did told him they were coming back for dinner, so he better had it prepared by then.

"So? How's Minho doing?" he asked as he washed his hands.

The girl snorted, "You really want to know?" he heard a few noises before hearing a clear and loud,

_"I hate America! When I finish this game, I swear I am moving!"_

Thomas chuckled. Teresa must have raised her phone so he could hear Minho's lament. There was a knock on the door. Still on the phone, he went and opened it; Newt standing there,

"Gotta go, T. See you tomorrow." he hangs up, "Come in. _Mi casa es tu casa_." he moved aside to let Newt inside.

"Thanks. Was that Teresa?"

Closing the door, he nodded, "Yeah, she's still checking on Minho so he doesn't cheat. Sonya had to go home."

"Did Minho got to eat some pizza?"

"He was about to, but his pride is much bigger than his hunger, so..." he shrugged, "You ready to start making dinner?"

Newt smiled, "Are you?" walking towards the kitchen, Newt saw the counter, "Umm, Tommy?" over the counter there were eggs, flour, chocolate powder, and on the other side were meat, vegetables, eggs and a bowl, "What's all this? Didn't you said we were gonna make dinner?"

"We are. I told Malia I was gonna cook and she asked for a chocolate dessert... And these are the ingredients I could find."

Newt chuckled before grabbing a knife out of the drawer, spinning it in midair and bringing it to the table.

Thomas mouth opened in amazement, "Wow."

Newt looked at him, "What?"

"That thing you did with the knife."

"Oh, you mean that little trick?" he raised the knife, making the brunet nod.

"Yeah, that was pretty cool. Do it again?"

Newt chuckled, "You are such a kid." but he did it anyways, looking carefully at the brunet's amazed face. He looked like a kid on a Christmas morning.

"That's so cool! I wanna try! I wanna try!" _Just. Like. A. Kid._

"Okay," Newt gave him the knife, "Now, it's all in the wrist. Okay? Just a slight swing up and then catch it in time."

Thomas nodded. He took a deep breath and slowly he spine it in the air, catching it on his hand. God, he was so sure he would cut himself.

Newt smiled, "There you go, greenie."

Thomas chuckled, "Greenie?"

"'Cus you're new in this. But don't feel bad about it; my mom can do it with two knives."

Thomas wasn't that impressed. He knows a lot about Aunt Allison because of aunt Lydia and uncle Scott. She's a total badass. Well... he can be a badass too. He tries to re-do the action but the knife goes a little too higher and falls hard on his hand, piercing through skin.

_"Ow, shucking hell!"_ he grabbed his hand, covering the cut although it hurt. Blood was gushing and spilling onto the floor.

Newt's eyes widen, " _Oh my God!_ Here!" he grabbed from the counter a towel and brought it to the brunet's hand, "Cover it! Cover it!"

_"Gaah!"_ groaned Thomas at the feeling of something pressing against his wound. Moments later, the cut stopped bleeding; gently removing the bloodied towel, Newt checked the brunet's hand. It was fine, no need of stitches.

"Are you alright?" the brunet nodded, "You sure?" he moves aside.

"Yes. It's just a little cut, it's-" he stops for a moment and chuckles. The blonde frowned, he asked him what was it and Thomas answered "War wound."

Newt stares at him, trying to contain his laughter. He breathes deep, and affectionately says, "You are such an egghead."

"I'm not."

They stare at each other, not daring to do anything else. To break the tension, Newt grabs an egg and cracks it on the brunet's head. Thomas is shocked, looking at Newt who tries to contain his laughter. Nonchalantly he grabs a handful of flour and flicks it in Newt's face. Newt continues laughing as he throws chocolate powder on the brunet. Thomas throws two handfuls of chocolate powder on him, making the blonde squeal.

" _Hey!_ That was perfectly measured!" he says laughing.

They continue to food fight; throwing all the things in the table to each other, squealing and laughing as they did. Finally, it ends with them standing very close to each other, covered in chocolate and flour. As they are looking each other, Thomas slowly caresses Newt's face, making the blonde close his eyes at the touch.

_"What the hell?!"_ they heard coming from the door as Stiles walked in, suitcase on hand.

Thomas and Newt break apart, looking at Stiles. Thomas lets out a chuckle mixed with a sigh, looking at the kitchen table as Newt only answers, "We're baking!"

"Yeah, I can see that."

Then something clicks on Thomas' mind.

"Wait, pops- weren't you supposed to be somewhere else?" Newt looked at him and frowned. He was right.

As he entered the house he answered, "We had to come back earlier. There was a nasty weather and there weren't going to be flights until 5 days from now, so..." he shrugs; then he turns his head to the outside, "Derek, come on! I'm getting old waiting for you!"

"Well, I'm the one with more things on the hands than just a simple suitcase, love." said Derek entering the house, indeed holding other three suitcases. He stops at seeing his son and the blonde on the kitchen, covered in powder and stuff, "Hey,"

Newt waved at him, "Hi, Mr. Hale," he looks at the mess in the kitchen, "Uh, I was helping Thomas make dinner."

"Oh, then we arrived at a great time to help. Don't you think, Derr?"

"What are you talking about? You're not the one who's gonna have to cook." Stiles nudges him and walks to the living room, leaving his suitcase. Derek followed.

"Well, you two go and clean yourselves. We'll start preparing the things and then you can join." Thomas and Newt nodded, going to the brunet's room.

Thomas pouted, _'Right; but of course. Your parents cockblock you. Typical.'_

It wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Thomas got to cook with Newt and then Malia and the twins returned and they all had dinner together. Like a big family. He liked that.

 

* * *

 

After dinner, Allison came to pick up Newt and they went home. Thomas went back to Minho's after Teresa leaved, and spend the night there. Malia got his bedroom again and he wasn't gonna sleep on the couch. At Minho's apartment later that night, Thomas was sleeping over his bedroom when there's someone knocking on the door, waking him up. He groans and sits; then stands up and stretches a little, and goes to the door. Once he opens it, he sees Minho standing in front of him, holding the pad. The Asian had bags under his eyes,

"Delaware." he says, and then he starts crying in despair, _"Delaware!"_ the brunet nods at him, saying 'all right'. Minho hands him his pad and they both walk to the kitchen, "I want my pizza now!"

The brunet nods, "You got it." and starts looking at the pad, while Minho got the pizza out of the fridge and starts to unwrap it. He's got one slice on his hand and is about to eat it when Thomas spoke, "You got Nevada twice."

The Asian pauses, the slice on his hand as he looks at the front, unmoving, "I know." and eats it either ways.

"Yeah." Thomas throws the pad on the table and heads for his bedroom again, stumbling a little as his friend stays in the kitchen.

 


	12. Lust in Translation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this chapter is long! I'm so proud of myself!! The truth is I couldn't stop writting, haha~  
> I hope you like it, so... Enjoy!

_"To invent your own life's meaning is not easy, but it's still allowed, and I think you'll be happier for the trouble." Bill Watterson._

 

 

It was July now, just a month more to start his senior year. Just one more year to college. God, how fast did time passed? Vacations were coming to an end, so Minho decided he wanted to do something exciting with his friends. That's why Thomas was currently inside his bedroom at Minho's apartment. The Asian boy was on the other side, trying to make him open the door.

"Thomas, come on! It'll be fun! And we need to do something fun before classes start!" whined Minho.

_"No! I'm not going to a club with you! You know what my dads would do to me?!"_

Minho sighed and putted his phone back on his ear, "He says he doesn't want to."

On the other side was Teresa, _"Tell him it'll be fun! The four of us, music, alcohol,"_ she stopped for a moment, _"And his dads doesn't need to know! He needs to tell them he'll stay with you and done! By the way, how does the book go?"_ asked the girl.

"I had to pause it for a while. It was getting too emotional! I can't handle emotional things, you know? That's why you're gonna be the one videotaping Thomas and Newt's wedding." Teresa chuckled.

_"What?"_ came from inside the bedroom.

"Nothing!" yelled at the same time Minho and Teresa.

"Teresa, I gotta go. Call you when I get an answer from this shank."

_"Okay. Tell him to stop being a baby and to get out."_

"I'm not telling him that, he might get mad."

_"Who's being a baby now, huh?"_

Minho rolled his eyes while chuckling, "Bye, T." the call ended and Minho putted his phone away, knocking on the door again, "Come one, dude. You don't have to worry, it'll be fine."

_"No. I'm gonna get grounded because of you."_

"Come on, that was only once-

_"Four times."_

"Four times. Well, someone's not gonna let that go any sooner." he said crossing his arms, "Come on, dude! Newt's gonna come. And so is Teresa. I promise you nothing will happen."

_"Lies! All I hear coming from you are lies!"_

"No, I assure you I'm not telling you lies." he said raising his right hand while the other one was over his heart.

Moments later the door open, revealing Thomas, who with narrow eyes asked "So you're selling what now?"

"I am selling only the concept of karmic realignment."

Thomas frowns, "You can't sell that! Karma can only be portioned out by the cosmos!" and slams the door close again.

Minho chuckles, "He's got me there."

 

At the end, Miho ended convincing him to go to the club. _'Damn him and his convincible arguments. He should be a lawyer.'_

 

* * *

 

The music in the club was loud. Like, way too loud; like I-don't-care-if-there's-a-freaking-earthquake-I-wouldn't-hear-it-anyways loud. At least it's a good taste in music. There are also strobe lights, illuminating the whole place and the people dancing in the dance floor. Thomas and Teresa were the firsts to arrive; Minho had to go quickly at Sonya's house but he said he would go for Newt after that and then come right at the club. He wasn't so sure how would he convince Aunt Allison to let him go to Minho's apartment and stay the night. Thomas had told his dads he was staying the night over Minho's, which wasn't a lie. He went there first and then Teresa came and picked him up. But his dads didn't need to know that.

Thomas and Teresa make their way through the people in the dance floor and finally arriving at the counter, where the bartender looked at them, a towel over his shoulder,

"Two Bud Light, please!" she said, flashing a smile before turning to Thomas, "So? What'd you think?"

"Nice." he said looking over the crowd. Many people were dancing glued to each together. Girls and girls. Boys and boys. Girls and boys. His eyes fell on two guys, their hips grinding maniacally. One with sandy blonde hair and the other with a brown mop. The brunet one was grinding his front over the other's back, hands over his waist and whispering something in his ear. The blonde let his head fall back, resting it on the brunet's shoulder.

He wasn't aware that he was staring until Teresa started talking beside him,

"Don't worry, Tom. Minho won't take too long. He'll bring Newt very soon and you'll be able to dance and grind at him like that guy over there."

He snorted, "T, you know there's not alcohol enough in this bar to make me forget my inhibi- _wait._ Are you and Min trying to be my wingmen?"

"Maybe."

Their drinks were on the bar, right in front of each other. They grabbed them and took a sip, occasionally tapping their feet at the club's music.

"How much time will Minho and your future husband take? I'm not gonna get drunk and be alone. I need a drinking buddy."

"You know I'm here, right?"

"The real question is _'does your parent's know you're out?'_ " Thomas groans, "I'm not letting you drink too much." putting his bottle aside, Thomas took out his phone and typed a message:

**'Hurry up!'**

The song currently playing came to an end, but right after that there was another new one, more loudly. Teresa made a satisfied noise while drinking, pulling her bottle away from her lips and putting it on the counter.

"Thomas! Let's dance!" she said grabbing his forearm, tugging at him.

"I don't even know this-- oh, what the hell." he said with a shrug as he let her pull him to the dance floor. They started dancing, the music getting louder and the people yelling and singing louder too. Thomas kind of like that, as he danced with his best friend, laughing and enjoying this. After the song came to an end, he went to the bar again. He asked for another drink and was surprised to see Teresa making her way back.

"Okay. This is the third time a hand is over my ass, so I'm going to sit over here for a while, ok?"

"Be my guest."

Teresa plopped down on the stool ad sighed. She putted away a strand of hair, "Hey, you," she said to the bartender, who looked surprised, "Yeah, you. You don't mind me staying here almost all the night, right? I knew you wouldn't. You're going to make me company, give me another one!" the guy just looked at Thomas and muttered a 'wow' at him. Thomas nodded. 'I got you, bro.' he thought. Chuckling a little, he looked back at the front.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Minho entering the club, behind him a blonde mop of hair. Newt. Thomas smiled and right after telling Teresa he would come back, he made his way to the entrance.

"Guys! Over here!"

Minho turned around, and saw his friend; they bump-fists once near and the Asian made his way to the bar, right beside Teresa. Thomas looked back at Newt and smiled again,

"You made it."

"Yeah, well, Minho wasn't exactly too discreet when we were leaving. _'Don't_ _worry ma'am, he's safe with us. Nothing to worry about._ ' when my mom just said _'good night'_."

Thomas laughs. Hard. _'Stupid, Min.'_ he thought. Newt shook his head, laughing too. Looking around, trying to locate the other two he notices the look on the brunet's face and his breath, he chuckles, "You're really drunk right now, aren't you?"

"No. I'm not drunk at all, you're just blurry."

Newt chuckles again. Thomas stumbles a little, "You okay?" he nods, "Yeah?" Thomas closes his eyes and nods, muttering a 'yeah' as the blonde pokes at him, "You almost fell over? Can you pass a sobriety test right now?" he continues poking.

"Yep."

"Can you stand up straight?" he asks pushing lightly at Thomas, watching him swing over his feet.

"See how I come right back? And I come right back." Newt chuckles, saying something like 'right. wow.' while shaking his head in disbelief, "Can I get you a drink?"

"It sounds great."

Thomas nods, more at himself, "I'm gonna go get you a drink." and turns around, ready to leave.

"Go for it."

"I think you need to get on this level." he says pointing at himself, making the blonde laugh. He disappears into the crowd, probably going towards the bar.

Thomas arrived to the bar and ordered another drink. Once the bartender gave him the drinks, he turned around, ready to go but Minho's voice stopped him,

"Two drinks? You're already at it? Wow."

" _'You're already at it? Wow.'_ " he mocked Minho, ignoring his friend's laughter as he made his way back to Newt, offering him his drink.

Minho leaned over Teresa, "You think they're gonna hook up tonight?"

"Tonight? No. Eventually? Yes."

Minho nodded. He stood up, ready to go dancing, "I'll go and dance, that's why I came here. You wanna dance?"

"Naah, I actually danced before you guys arrived. I'm just gonna chill for a while; you go and have some fun. But not too much, you have a girlfriend."

"Way to kill the mood, T." said pouting Minho as he made his way to the dance floor.

"Be careful of the sneaky hands!" yelled Teresa. She orders another drink, and once she has it on her hand drinks for it, she feels refreshed. Looking at the dance floor, she laughs at seeing Thomas dance. The British boy seemed to think the same, as he covered his mouth and looked apologetically at the girl the brunet bumped into.

_"Hey there,"_ she turns to look at a dark skinned guy with a tight green shirt and a drink on his hand. She nods at him, turning away while taking a sip from her drink. He does the same. A few seconds later he coughs, making Teresa look at him again, "So I have a feeling that we should kiss. And is that feeling a good feeling or an incorrect feeling?"

Teresa tilts her head, "Well, I sometimes have a feeling I can do crystal meth, but then I think, _'Mmm, better not'_."

Fortunately, the guy seems to understand, "Yeah." as he walks away.

Teresa snorts and while taking a sip from her red cup she says, "Yeah, _hasta la vista_ Schwarzenegro."

Thomas and Newt continued dancing at the music's rhythm. Thomas loved making the blonde laugh, even if it was because of how he dances. Aunt Lydia always told him he danced like his pops and _oh dear God_ , did he really looked like that? He've seen his pops dance before. How he managed to get married to his dad when Derek knew how he danced? Only God knows. He smiles when seeing Newt dancing with his eyes closed, swinging his hips loosely.

 

_Ok, now he was close_

_Tried to domesticate you_

_But you're an animal_

_Baby, it's in your nature_

 

Minho dances with two girls and their girlfriend's, laughing as they bump into each other. Teresa laughed while looking at the Asian dancing with those girls. They seemed fine dancing with him since he wasn't going to try anything on them. Well, by the way a blonde girl grabbed the red haired girl's waist as they danced, Teresa knew he didn't had a chance even if wanted. As she's enjoying the show, another guy approaches her, this time a curly haired one and no shirt. Nice abs but no thanks.

"Can I buy you a drink?" he asks, flashing her a smile.

"Actually, I'd rather have the money." she says with a smile. The guy stays still, not knowing what to do so he just leaves. Teresa smirks just as Minho arrives at the bar; seeing her smirking he raises an eyebrow but doesn't question further.

Back at the dance floor, Thomas and Newt continued dancing.

 

_What do they make dreams for_

_When you got them jeans on_

_What do we need steam for_

 

_"You the hottest bitch in this place_!" they both sang at the same time at the top of their lungs, laughing as they look at each other.

"I'm going to the bathroom!" yelled Thomas so the other could hear him. Newt nodded, stopping dancing. Thomas jogged his way to the bathroom, looking back at the dance floor and almost colliding with the bathroom's door; he smiled goofily and then entered the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Newt rolled his eyes but smiled at that, he turned around to continue dancing and-- crashed with another person, spilling his drink over the guy's covered torso. He was tall, short brown hair and he seemed to be in his twenties.

"I'm so sorry!"

Newt's eyes widen, "No, I'm the one who's sorry!"

"No, I wasn't looking. But now that I pay more attention," he said glancing at Newt's body, "I don't understand how come I didn't saw you." Newt smiled slightly flustered. He putted a hand with a handkerchief over the guy's shirt and tried to wipe it, failing. The guy chuckled, "It's okay. Look," he took a step aside and took off his shirt, showing his glistening and fit torso. He was well built.

Newt stood there with his hand still mid-air, almost seeing as it wanted to reach out and touch the other's guy chest. "Sorry again."

"It's alright. I was kind of warm, actually." the blonde chuckled at that. It made him feel a little less embarrassed.

From the bar, Teresa and Minho were chatting when the scene on the dance floor caught the girl's attention.

"Oh no. Someone's stealing Thomas' man." she said nodding at Newt's direction. Minho followed her eyes.

"Should we do something or-"

"What can we do? We can't go there and demand that guy to leave him alone because we're trying to protect his virginity for our friend who is the one who want to deflower him." she turns her head to the side, frowning, "That sounded like the plot of a college movie."

Minho sighed, "Guess you're right. Newt hasn't done anything that makes us think he's uncomfortable talking to that guy. I guess we'll just have to keep Thomas from knowing."

"Keep me from knowing what?" they heard Thomas asking beside them, startling them.

" _Arghh--_ _you getting taller?!_ " said smoothly Minho, trying to cover his surprise. Thomas frowned comically. Teresa bites her lip, looking back at the dance floor. Thomas followed her actions and turned around, seeing Newt talking to another guy. A _shirtless_ guy. And laughing with him.

"Oh. Is he like, a friend or something?"

"He is now- _ow!_ " complained the Asian when Teresa nudged him on the stomach.

_"Oh."_ let out Thomas, trying not to be affected by it. It wasn't nothing. It better be.

Back at Newt and the hot guy, the blonde hadn't realized that Thomas came out of the bathroom a few minutes ago and was actually watching him from the bar, along with Minho and Teresa.

"So, are you alone?" asked the guy whose name Newt still didn't knew.

"No, I came here with my friends and-

"And they leave you alone?!" asked the guy with wide eyes, "I'm sorry to say this but how could they? Someone as beautiful as you shouldn't be left alone." said genuinely the guy. Newt just stares at him and then laughs, a faint blush appearing over is cheek. The guy smiles and also chuckles.

From the other side, Thomas growled. He didn't liked what he was seeing. That guy smoothly approaching the blonde angel and hitting on him, making him blush _AND_ smile. Great, now they were talking again. God his blood was boiling. While he tried to kill that guy with his eyes, Minho approached him, standing beside him. He saw the look on Thomas' face and then at the direction he was looking: Newt was still with the relatively handsome guy and they were laughing.

"You're doing that face," Minho remarked from next to him.

"I don't know what you're talking about, my face always looks like this, this is the face I was born with, shut up, Minho," he didn't even had to look at his friend to know that Minho was smirking at him. Thomas took a deep sip of his beer.

Minho rolled his eyes and patted his shoulder, "Dude, it's gonna be fine."

"Yeah? And how do you know that?"

"I don't."

"Very reassuring, Min."

Back at Newt, the guy continued talking to the blonde while they dance, enjoying their conversation until he cleared his throat to talk,

"Can I ask you something?" the blonde nodded, making the guy lean a little forward, "Is that guy over there your boyfriend or he's just a creepy guy staring at you?" he asked, tilting his head to his left.

Newt discretely turned his head to his side and saw Thomas looking at them, a beer on his hand. He chuckled, "No, he's one of the friends I came with."

The guy looked back at him with an eyebrow up, "Just a friend? By the way he's been staring at this direction for the past minutes doesn't seem too 'friendly' to me. Sure he's just a friend?"

Newt stares at him; this wasn't the time and place to tell a complete stranger about his love life and explain his relationship with the brunet. Biting his lips he added quickly "Friend."

"You took a while in answering that simple question, you know." the blonde whined, "You like him?"

Newt looked again at Thomas, who simply ignored all that Minho was murmuring in his ear. The Asian pulled at his arm and tried to make him sit beside Teresa, but Thomas didn't move.

"It's complicated."

"Yes or not, hot stuff."

"Yes, okay? He likes me and I like him but--" he huffs, "Told you, complicated."

The guy nodded, "Maybe I can help you with that but I'm taking a risk in getting punched but I'm willing to do it if you tell me your name."

Newt smiled kindly at him, "Newt."

"Newt. Nice name. I'm Mark, by the way."

Newt nodded and then felt an arm around his waist, bringing him closer to the other guy's naked and hard torso, his hand over his muscles to prevent himself to fall. Newt looked up at him but before he could ask what was he doing, Mark shushed him and tilted his head again, at the direction where the brunet was coming.

Thomas managed to make the guy let go of the blonde subtly, "Oh, hey Newt. Sorry it took me so long." he turned to look at Mark, "New friend?"

"Yeah, he's Mark. Mark, he's Tommy." Mark offered his hand to the brunet, who turned to face Newt in the moment that happen, making it look like he didn't noticed it.

"Newt, wanna dance?"

"Umm, yes?"

"Okay! _Min!_ " he yelled, eyes still on Newt.

_"Coming!"_ they hear as the Asian finished his drink and ran towards them.

They began walking away from Mark, with Newt offering him a smile and mouthing a 'thank you'. Mark nodded at him. Still walking, Thomas turned to glare at Mark, doing the 'I'm watching you' sign with his hand. He turned to the front and disappeared into the crowd.

Mark shook his head while chuckling, "Ahh, young love." and went to dance to another corner.

Teresa laughed from the bar, asking the bartender for another of his chips. Moments later, the same guy who tried talking to her returns and stands beside her,

"Maybe we could go see a movie?"

"I have already seen it."

"But I-

"Oh, my friends are calling for me. Bye!" she goes towards the guys, ignoring the guy at the bar. She starts dancing, joining them as they all laugh happily.

 

* * *

 

Hours had passed since the gang arrived at the club. They had danced, drank and danced a little more. They were having the best night of their lives, that was for sure.

Not only once Thomas had stopped to take a look at his phone to see the time. It was probably late. Past one o'clock, that's for sure. He looked at his phone. 5:35 a.m. _Oh God_ , his dads were going to kill him. _'Well, they probably think I'm at Minho's apartment, so...'_ He shrugged and took another sip from his beer. As he drank, he tilted his head to the side and saw a jukebox on the corner of the club. His eyes shined as an idea formed in his mind.

Minho came out of the bathroom and as he made his way to where Thomas was supposed to be, he didn't found the brunet there. _'Great. I'll be looking for him like a parent whose kid ran into the mall. Maybe Teresa know where he is.'_ he thought as he turned his head to the bar. Teresa was talking to the bartender as he offered her some of his chips. She hit him on the shoulder and accepted. _'Maybe not.'_ Then he spotted the blonde over the dance floor, moving his body like one of those air dancers. He chuckled at the thought. God, were he and Teresa the only ones not too drunk? He jogged towards Newt, patting his shoulder,

"Hey,"

"Hey," he looks around, "Where's Thomas?"

"I thought he was with you?"

Minho frowns, "No, I thought he was with you. Oh no," he looked around the club, "We shouldn't leave him alone when he's drunk. He's awful when drunk."

"Really? What kind of drunk is he?"

Suddenly, a song starts to play at loud volume ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJiExfGevNg)) and they see Thomas already standing over the counter, people around them applauding.

"I think you're going to found out."

 

_Well, shake it up, baby, now (Shake it up, baby)_ \- Thomas starts lip syncing, moving his hips around. He closes his eyes as he mouths 'twist & shout', hands made fists. He makes a 'come here' sign with his hands while twirling his hips. Minho and Newt both laugh, the blonde covering his mouth as the brunet continues. All the people there start cheering and dancing too, following Thomas' moves.

_Well, work it on out, honey (Work it on out)_ \- He starts nodding hard, and drops to his knees, facing the crowd.

_You know you look so good (Look so good)_ \- he points at Newt, and makes a suffering face which makes the blonde laugh. He stands up again, still moving his hips as he does the temptation walk. He looks up at the ceiling while twisting, one hand pointing up.

Thomas hops off the counter, landing on the floor and continues dancing. He approaches two girls and grabs them by the waist, making the girls chuckle. He then starts dancing, the girls following his moves. The whole club was also dancing. He makes the 'come here' sign again and then nods his head, still lip syncing. Teresa who had gone to the bathroom, comes out and sees her friend dancing; she approaches the other two.

"Drunk Thomas?" she asks Minho.

He nods, "Drunk Thomas." he was the only one who could make a whole club dance and sing, that shank, "You're crazy!" yells Minho above the music but still laughing.

Thomas continues dancing, too wasted to care if he looked ridiculous or for the way he danced. His eyes started searching through the crowd for a certain blonde. He wanted to dance with him, now that the alcohol made him brave.

His eyes fall over a mop of blonde, soft hair. _Bingo!_ He looks at Newt, who was dancing together with a dark skinned girl with long hair. The girl looks back at Thomas and blushes; she then whispers something to Newt, making him turn to look at the brunet. Smirking, he stopped dancing and made his way to the other side. The people around kept dancing, too immersed in the music to stop dancing and singing; Thomas approached the blonde.

Newt chuckled, "You're one crazy guy, you know that?"

"All for you." he turned Newt around, his back pressing against the brunet's front as they danced. God, was the blonde too wasted to say something or did he wanted this? _Will he get mad or he'll ask me to grind further?_

He decided in asking before this whole situation escalated. But before he could say something against or in favor, Newt turned around, putting his arms around Thomas' neck and pulling closer at the brunet's ear,

_"Wanna get out of here, Tommy?"_

After hearing that, all the blood from Thomas' whole freaking body went to a sole place. He was sure his eyes widen at that, as Newt bite his lip while looking at him, his face flushed. Thomas swallowed hard and tried to talk, but any words came out, just a bunch of sounds.

Newt smirked, batting his eyes, "Are you always this articulate?"

Before he could say something, he felt something pressing against his lips. Newt's soft lips. It took .5 seconds for him to reciprocate the kiss, hands roaming over Newt's sides as the blonde's hands gripped his hair. God, he tasted like beer. Or was he? Thomas didn't knew nor cared; right now he cared about not ending this any time soon.

Newt separated just a little; Thomas could still feel his breath over his lips as he spoke, "So? Wanna get out of here?"

He nodded. God, he nodded so fast his neck hurt! Not wasting more time, Thomas leaved the blonde to grab his hand and pull him through the crowd, making their way to the exit.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the club, Minho jogs back to the bar where Teresa is sitting. He holds up one finger as he says "Another one, please." to the bartender; he then looks at Teresa, "How you doing?"

"Fine. Holding my alcohol. And how are Romeo and Juliet?"

Minho snorts, pointing at the front, "They are just-- nowhere in sight." he says when he can't see his friends. Teresa turns too and can't see Thomas or Newt, "They were there just a few minutes ago! How did- Where?" feeling a tap on his shoulder, he turns back to the bar, grabbing his drink.

_"Hey!"_

They both turn around to the voice calling for them and are you kidding me? The same freaking guy that has been hitting on Teresa is standing behind them, looking very furious,

"I think I could make you very happy!"

"Why? Are you leaving?"

The guy makes a mix between a whine and a growl and left, stomping his way to the tables. Teresa rolls her eyes; she had enough with him and his pick up lines.

Minho turned to look at the dark haired girl and after a few seconds he asked "Did it hurt?"

She frowns, "Did what hurt?"

"When you broke through the earth's crust ascending from hell."

Teresa stares at him and then smiles, holding out her hand, "I'm yours." they chuckle as he grabs her hand and takes her to the dance floor. Boy, the guy broke a glass as he made his way out mad. Still (barely) lingering in their minds, Minho and Teresa wondered where were their friends.

 

* * *

 

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I brought you here, didn't I?" said the blonde, kissing the neck of the brunet. Thomas and Newt were currently inside a little castle on the park near the bar ([x](http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00JsAaYoGDYEkR/Plastic-European-Castle-KYQ-9046-1-.jpg)). You know, the ones were little kids could go in and pretend to be knights and that stuff? Well, that one. Their shirts and shoes were now scattered on the ground, and Thomas' belt was unbuckled. Their hands were roaming all over their bodies, eager to touch more and more. Thomas didn't know how long they were out of the club and inside the castle, but the sky seemed a little clear.

"Yeah, I know. What I meant is... Are you still drunk?"

Newt stopped for a moment, his hands over the brunet's chest, "No."

Thomas frowned, "Really? What's 6 plus 7?"

The blonde seems to think about it for a few seconds, _"67?"_

Thomas chuckled, rolling his eyes, "Yeah, you're really sober, dude." he knew he would hate himself for doing this, but he would hate himself even more if he didn't. Taking a deep breath he said "Newt, we can't do it."

"What? Why?"

"You are drunk; I'm a little but still drunk. We can't."

"Yes we can." Thomas shakes his head, the other one wasn't hearing him, "You know what? Why don't we try our luck on the other side of the castle, okay?" says the blonde as he grabs Thomas by the shoulders and moves him to the right, chuckling a little.

Now more sober than before, Thomas tries to stop him, "No, Newt, I-

Out of nowhere, the blonde trips over Thomas and they ended up getting stuck from the torso to the head on the window of the castle; Newt pressed above Thomas, their chests almost glued and their legs intertwined. Newt's left hand was outside but his other hand was trapped, the brunet was the other way around.

Thomas groans, _"Oww..."_ they try to move but can't get out, "We're stuck."

"What?"

_"We're stuck!"_ they move at the same time, squirming to get out but nothing happens. Newt sighs; resting his head almost over Thomas' but quickly raises it up as something catches his attention.

Thomas notices how the blonde is staring at something, so he turns his gaze towards it and _oh my god_. There are three little kids standing right beside the castle, looking at them. Behind them is a group of people organizing a wooden table with food.

Thomas laughs nervously, "Hey, kids."

"Hey." says the blonde.

"Um, could one of you go get a grown-up? We're doing some grown-up things over here." says Thomas making the blonde roll his eyes. They both notice the little one of them has a 'happy birthday' crown, "Happy birth- happy birthday." says Thomas.

"Happy Birthday." says at the same time Newt. You could feel the awkward in the air. Thomas could swear he heard the blonde murmur 'bloody hell'.

 

* * *

 

A while later, the firefighters arrived at the park where Thomas and Newt were, still stuck in the castle. One of them was kneeled in front of the castle, talking to the two boys.

"Sir, um, we tried to…" started talking Thomas, "We weren't doing anything bad. You'll see, my friend here..." Newt waved, a little embarrassed, "and I were, well... a little drunk. And we thought this was my car. And," he chuckles "We wanted to try and get some sleep, but..." with his right hand he points at the castle, "This isn't my car."

Newt rolls his eyes, and even the man does so. The firefighter looks between Thomas and Newt, "Okay..." he say as if trying to shallow that lie, "Um, just hold on for a moment." the two guys nodded as the firefighter walked towards the truck, talking to one of his partners.

Newt looks at Thomas, "What the shucking hell was that? My nana's dog tells better lies!" he says whispering.

"Yeah, I know! I-I got nervous!" Thomas face was about to fall from embarrassment. _'Ok. I'm trapped in a kids game, in the middle of a park and a birthday party for a 5 year-old, with Newt, the gorgeous blonde guy I have a crush on, and we were about to have sex. Or so I think. How much waste were we? Probably Newt is going to hate me after this. Yep, goodbye opportunity to be with him.'_

Newt is looking at his right at the firefighter when his face suddenly changes. He glances down at Thomas who is still immersed in his thoughts. "Stop it." he says to the brunet.

Thomas looks up at him, frowning, "What? I'm not doing anything."

"Well, a part of you is."

Thomas understands what he means, looking between their chest and under them. Oh. _Oh._ "Sorry." he looks around, well, tries because he can't turn his neck too much. Now this can't be any more awkward.

In that moment another siren was heard and so was the truck parking. _'That must be another partner or someone more experience about teenagers getting stuck on a plastic castle in the middle of sex'_ thought Thomas, not bothering to turn his head to check.

_"What's going on?"_ was the voice that sounded as so did a few steps. _Oh no. Hell no._ His eyes widen. Thomas knew that voice very, very well.

"Fuck me..." he murmured as a figure approached them, standing beside them.

"Oh, for God's sake. It's all right, this little delinquent belongs to me." said Derek, looking at his son with a not so pleasant look on his face. Of course he was there, he is a firefighter. It was just question of time. The universe and karma were a bitch.

"Hey, dad." said Thomas waiving awkwardly at him.

After a while, the firefighters had managed to get the two boys out of the castle. The first thing Derek did was grab Thomas by the ear and drag him to the truck. He gave him a towel as another partner did the same with Newt, who was at the other side, not even remotely close to Thomas.

Thomas, now covered in a blue towel glanced at his father. Derek had his arms crossed in front of his chest, and a frown decorating his face but wasn’t looking at him at all.

The brunet shrugged in his place, "Uh-

"No." said Derek, looking as the firefighters removed the castle.

Thomas nodded, looking around, thinking about what to say now. What could he say? _'Sorry dad, I was about to have drunken sex with Allison's son in a plastic castle in the middle of a park'_? No, that didn't sound good. "Listen, I-

"No." was all he received. Okay, this could work out. His father just needed a little more time.

 

* * *

 

Looking at all the scene with a crowd of people (more like the parents and their kids) were Teresa and Minho. The Asian boy turned to the girl,

"Should we do something? I don't know, explain this whole situation? Thomas' ass is gonna get grounded."

Teresa raised an eyebrow, "You wanna go there and explain his dad and the firefighters about the bar you two weren't supposed to be at?"

"Yeah, you're right. His ass is fine. Let's leave before someone spots us."

 

* * *

 

Derek had been lecturing Thomas since the moment they put a foot inside the house. That was an hour and a half ago. And boy his father had lungs to keep going. Thomas was sit at the dinner table while Derek was pacing around, lecturing him.

"Thomas, you know they could've arrest you for public indecency? You can't go around and have sex in parks!"

"Well, actually we didn't do it, _per se_ \- " Derek sent him a look and the brunet shut up, "Okay. I shut up." he said raising his hands in defense.

"And if that wasn't enough, you were drunk!" Derek sighs, rubbing the arc of his nose "A park, a park. Why the hell in a _park_ , Thomas? Couldn't you go to a motel or a friend's car or home- No, home no. _NEVER_ home."

"It wasn't my fault, okay? I told Newt we shouldn't but he was far too drunk that he didn't even care!"

Derek stopped pacing around for a moment and looked at his son, "You told him no because he was drunk?" Thomas nodded, "And you were too?" another nod, "But you wanted?" again he nods. Derek seems like he is thinking something as he sits in the nearby chair, looking very serious. "You like him?"

Thomas stops for a moment. _Oh, that' right. I didn't tell my parents about my pasts relationships. Well, if you could call those 'relationships'._

"Yeah." Thomas shallows, "That's... another reason why I told him no."

"You didn't want him to regret it later because of being drunk." Thomas nods at him, feeling a little ashamed to be talking about his sex life- _sex life?_ With his father.

Derek nods understandably, "Yeah, been there." Thomas looked at his father, raising an eyebrow. Derek noticed what he said and coughs hard, "I mean, I understand that." looking at the clock he passed a hand over his face, "Well, go to your room and rest. Your pops is at Lydia's, so he doesn't know you're barely arriving. And we are gonna keep it that way, okay?" Thomas nods, "Go and sleep." he nodded again and went upstairs.

Let's just say Thomas wasn't the only one who couldn't get to sleep well that night.

 

* * *

 

Over the blonde's house at the same time, Newt was laying down his bed with his face resting over his pillows, looking at the side. He was already in his pajamas, his clothes on the floor beside the chair of his desk.

He heard a knock over his door and said 'come in'. Allison opened the door slowly and entered the room, sitting over the edge of the bed looking at her son, "Hey." she said softly, "You wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

Allison nodded and patted his leg, "Okay." she stood up and went to the door, "You know you can tell me anything, honey. I'm your mother after all." she sees him nodding slowly, "We'll talk about this later with your father, okay?" she didn't wait this time for a nod; she just closed the door without making any noise. Newt hugged his pillow and fell asleep, not before remembering a pair of strong arms holding him and soft lips kissing his neck.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? So? SO? What'd you think? Like it? Loved it? Not too much love?   
> Whatever you think just leave a comment and tell me about it. See you in the next chapter~


	13. Quinceañera

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't uploaded the chapter on Saturday, I was busy and didn't brought my laptop with me. But I found time and here we are :)  
> Dear God!!! Scorch Trials comes out tonight in my country!!! YAY! I'm going to go and watch it tonight! (if I finish my homework, if not then tomorrow). Wish me luck!

The first thing Thomas noticed when he opened his eyes was the slight light that came from his window. His eyes must have reacted the same way the T-Rex's on the first movie of Jurassic Park when the girl pointed the lantern at it's eyes. Chuckling a little he stood up from bed -he saw the clock on his alarm; It was 11:58 a.m.- and went to the bathroom. After coming out, he decided to go downstairs. His stomach growled.

Going downstairs was the worst. His head hurt and his legs felt jelly. His torso also hurt. On the very last step of the stairs he saw that his dads were on the kitchen; the older one sitting over the counter and Stiles in front of the oven. He barely noticed the food over the counter, he just went there and sat,

"Oh, look who's here."

Stiles turned around and saw his son, "Good morning, sleepy beauty. How are you feeling? Derek told me you had a headache all night and to let you rest. That's why I didn't wake you up. You sure were feeling pretty bad, you didn't woke up at all."

As Stiles turned to the fridge, Thomas glanced at his dad, _'Headache? Really, dad? You're covering my ass because you know I didn't do anything bad or because you're afraid pops might kick your ass?'_ he almost chuckled, 'Covering your son's ass because he got drunk and almost had sex in a public-

That made Thomas remember yesterday's (more like a few hours ago) events and he groaned, cursing his very existence; he lets his head flop onto the table, "Let me have a knife." me muttered.

"Why do you want if for?"

"For my wrists."

Derek rolls his eyes, "Thomas, don't be such a drama queen."

"The pot talking about the kettle..." said Stiles as he passed beside them. Derek raised his finger at him as a warning, making his husband chuckle and sent him a kiss, "It's just a headache. You'll be fine." he claps, "Now, here we go, most important meal of the day..." he starts listing the food over the counter, "Eggs sunny side up, bacon, toast and just in case you're really hungry... a stack of humongous chocolate chip pancakes which smell incredible, if I do say so myself."

"Thanks."

"Okay, I'm going to go and take a shower, then I'll go to Scott's. He needed help with the twins birthday party." after kissing Thomas on the temple and Derek on the mouth, he went upstairs. Derek looks as he disappears and when he turns around, he finds Thomas devouring the food. He raises an eyebrow at him,

While chewing the brunet says, "I'm eating away the pain." with his mouth full of food. Derek just rolls his eyes.

 

* * *

 

Over Scott's house, the whole family plus Lydia were in the living room, talking about the twins birthday party. Alex and Max were going to turn 15 and they had decided to make a typical Quinceañera.

Max frowned, "So what's a quincenema or whatever that is."

Lydia smiled at him, " _Quinceañera._ It's a party celebrating a girl's coming of age." she turns to Alex, "You get to wear a pink beautiful dress." said Lydia smiling, "And it's a Latin America tradition, that the words _'Quince'_ meaning fifteen, and _'año'_ mean year, and _'era'_ which... just makes it sound spanish. There are rituals symbolizing your becoming a woman that you go through with your dad." she looks at both Scott and Isaac, "In your case, dads."

Isaac turns to look between Alex and Scott, "What? I didn't give anybody permission to become a woman." Scott chuckles.

Lydia's phone vibrates and she checks it, looking at the screen. Her smile turns into a frown. Reading something on her phone, Lydia stands up, "Uum, I think you'll have to keep doing this without me. If you excuse me, I need to go and find my husband."

"He's with Derek at the ballroom." says Isaac.

She winks, "Thanks. Bye!" she sends a kiss to the twins and leaves, car keys on hand.

Once she's out of sight, Alex turns to her dads, "Listen guys, I love being half Mexican," she says looking at Scott, "and half..." she looks at Isaac, "whatever he is, but-

"Italian."

"Yeah, that. Sorry, dad. The point is don't I get a vote on something here? Like, which dress? Or shoes? Music? It's my birthday party, after all."

_"Hey! It's my birthday too!"_ yells Max from the other side of the room.

Alex rolls her eyes, "Don't worry, you'll get to decide which dress and shoes too," her brother bangs his fists at her. She looks back at her dads, "So?

"Okay." says Scott, "You're right.  Let me tell Allison and Lydia if they can take you to choose the dress, okay?"

Alex smiles and launches to his dad for a hug, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" they look at the sandy blonde man.

"I guess this womanhood train is clearly leaving without me." says Isaac behind them, putting away whatever he had on hand, "Look, as a father, I am not gonna be left behind, so I'm on board." Alex smiles at him. Isaac stops his confidence and pouts, "No, _I'm not!_ " he says with a high pitched voice and then he leaves, followed by Scott who hugs him. Alex just rolls her eyes.

 

* * *

 

Thomas was at the coffee shop, sat in a seating booth waiting for Minho to come back. The Asian boy was currently at the restroom. Facing the door, Thomas heard the bell on the door indicating someone was entering. Instinct told him to look up and when he did he was looking at Newt. _Oh God._ Not now. No, better now than later. He was about to open his mouth and yell to the blonde when Newt turned around and caught him. He opened his mouth too but didn't talk. Instead, he walked towards the brunet.

_"I'm sorry."_ they both said at the same time; they frowned, _"What?"_ shaking their heads _"No, you first."_ and then laugh. Thomas nodded at the empty space in front of him, so Newt sat.

"I'm sorry." said Thomas, looking directly at soft brown eyes.

"What are you apologizing for? It was my fault."

"Yeah, but I was drunk and-

"So was I." Newt takes a deep breath, "You didn't do anything wrong. Actually, you stopped us from doing something we both weren't actually enough sober to consent." he smiled. Thomas felt relief at hearing that, "So thanks. For stopping us."

Thomas shrugged, "It was the honorable thing to do."

"It couldn't have been easy to do it."

"Yeah, it was hard." he turns his head to see Minho standing beside them -having come out of the nowhere-, looking at him and then at the blonde, then again, "I beg of you, don't take it out of context."

"Okay, okay."

Newt laughs and then frowns, taking his hand to his pocket and taking out his phone. Looking at the screen he puts it away, "Need to go. See you at the quinceañeras?"

Thomas nods, "Of course."

Newt smiles at him and then at Minho; he turns around and leaves the coffee shop. Once he's out of their sight, Minho nudges him, catching his attention. He sits where Newt was a few moments ago.

"So... how did it go?"

"Well, my dad lectured me for a while after arriving home, I told him how I felt about Newt and he saved my ass from my pops, I had a good breakfast," he lowers his voice, so Minho leans near to hear, "Newt isn't angry and he thanked me for stopping whatever was going to happen when we were drunk."

Minho smiles, "That's good news. What are you whispering about?"

Still whispering, he says "If my penis ever finds out that it was my idea, it'll kill me." Minho chuckles. "You sure you don't wanna go to a quinceañeras party?"

"Naah, I think I'll pass. Sonya has a thing with her parents so I'm gonna stay at my place and finish reading the book. I'm getting a little worried about August."

As Minho looks around the place, Thomas bite his lips, "Oh, okay. Good luck,"

"Same. See you later, shank." and with that he left. Once out of the coffee shop, Thomas quickly got out his phone and texted Teresa,

**_'He's about to get to that part of the book. You better go to his place in a few hours and do something. And bring ice cream.'_** **_-Tom._**

He wasn't gonna deal with Minho if he finished the book. Teresa was the one to blame so... But at least Newt wasn't angry at him. That made Thomas smile.

 

* * *

 

At the ballroom, Derek and Peter were checking everything they needed. Derek was at the top part, checking the soundboard even though he wasn't the one going to play it, it was a DJ they hired. He was just making sure it worked. Peter was on the ground, looking through the lists Lydia had given him and looking at the spots where everything was supposed to go: the present table, the snacks table, the guests, flowers, balloons, everything.

Derek grabs the microphone and taps it softly, _"Peter, this is God."_

Peter continues doing what he's doing, "Look, I'm a little busy right now. You got time Thursday?"

_"Let me check."_ Derek looks at the clipboard over the table, _"Oh, I've got a plague. How about Friday?"_

Peter chuckles, standing up. Out of the blue Lydia enters the salon furious. Bad sign. "Peter!"

Peter looks up, "Quick, God. Smite the evil witch!"

Lydia walks until she's standing in front of him, arms crossed, "Are you aware that Aiden failed two exams and didn't told us about it?"

"God, why have you forsaken me?" he asks, looking up at Derek, who just shrugs and turns around.

_"Peter!"_

_"Yes!"_

"Yes what? 'Yes, you knew about the exams' or 'yes, I'm listening to you, honey'?!"

"Why are you so mad? _Are you on your period?!_ "

Lydia slowly leans in close and in a firm, almost deadly voice she says "I started my day by waking up in a pool of my own blood. Is that how you'd like me to end yours?"

Peter stays still. With wide eyes he looks at his sides, "I-I don't know how to answer that."

"That's right, Peter. Show her who's got the pants in the relationship." yelled Derek from the top.

Lydia turns to look at him, eyes cold, "Your husband is worse and he doesn't even have a period. You want me to call him and tell him you just said that?" she asks in an almost innocent tone.

Derek stares at her and after five seconds he looks at Peter, "You're on your own, man."

Peter looks back at Lydia and sighs, "Okay. I'll ground him, ok? And maybe Ethan too, he must know about it, they're twins and have the same classes and exams. Plus, they're up to their usual shenanigans." Lydia nodded at him and turned around, walking back to the door when Peter called out "I knew there was a reason why I married you." she looked over her shoulder and smirked, then continued.

 

* * *

 

Teresa opened the door of Minho's apartment and closed it behind her. After getting Thomas' text she quickly showered and went to get ice cream. Tom was a coward, throwing her to the wolves.

Shrugging it off, she walked towards the kitchen and stops; she finds Minho sitting on the kitchen counter, looking at his hands in silence. Beside his hands was the TFIOS book. He eyed the book and oh. She knew what was it.

Walking towards him on the other side of the counter she puts down the ice cream and says in a soft voice,

"Did August just died?" he nods, "You want a hug?" he nods again. Teresa walks towards him and hugs him, his strong arms around her waist as he hides his face on her chest. She caresses his hair. _'We all've been there.'_ she thinks, _'Stupid John Green.'_

 

* * *

 

The day the birthday party arrived everyone was excited. Especially the twins. The whole place looked amazing; there was a whole snacks table with the big birthday cake in the center of it, the DJ playing music as everyone danced on the dance floor, laughing happily. Alex was wearing a beautiful long pink dress with a tiara and a veil ([x](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ca/1a/22/ca1a22d17fddabdaa9033294551d086d.jpg))([x](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m56zbc1Ryr1rsem97o1_500.jpg)), and Max a tuxedo with a boutonniere ([x](http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/thefosters/images/5/59/The_fosters_11.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130620234644)). The rest of the family and guests were dressed equally formal; women with dresses and men with tuxedos. They were dancing with their friends as their family were sitting on the tables. Derek, Stiles and Thomas were in one table, the two adults talking with each other as Thomas eyed Newt from his table. The blonde was talking to his dad, while Aunt Allison was standing beside Scott, talking to him.

"They look so happy," said Allison to Scott as they were near the DJ.

"Yeah, I'm glad." said Scott with a smile.

 

_Gonna meet all my friends_

_Gonna have ourselves a ball_

_Gonna tell my friends_

_Gonna tell them all_

_That I'm a wild one_

_Ooh yeah, I'm a wild one_

 

Over the snacks table, Max looked around before approaching the cake with a small knife. He discretely cut a slice and ate it before anyone could see him. Wiping his mouth he turned around and almost collided with Malia, who was staring at her phone. She had her eyes glued to her phone; she was waiting for her exams results and boy she was nervous.

"Shit! You scared me!"

"Sorry, sorry," she didn't look up at him.

Before he could ran away, Lydia and Stiles approached them,

"Are you having fun, buddy?" asked Stiles.

Max nodded, "Yes, so much, Uncle Stiles."

"We are so glad to hear that," said Lydia with a smile. She then looked at the cake and frowned, "Okay, who ate a piece of the cake?"

"Malia!" said Max as he ran away, leaving the brunet girl standing alone.

Malia's eyes leave her phone and look at the two adults; her eyes widen, "Not me! I'm too nervous to eat!" she runs away.

Lydia turns to the brunet man, "See? She's very sensitive. She senses doom."

"Lydia, Malia senses doom at Disneyland." she smiles before rolling her eyes at her best friend.

Over the other side of the dance floor, where the tables were, Newt was sitting alone as his dad had gone to dance with his mom. Newt was watching them dance when a hand fell on his shoulder, making him turn around.

"Hey," said Thomas.

He smiled, "Hey. Great party, don't you think?"

"Yeah, yeah- The twins deserve it." he eyed the twins dancing with each other near Newt's parents, "Wanna dance?"

"Here? In front of everyone? With your moves?"

"Hey, I'm not that bad." Newt raised his eyebrows, "Okay, I'm _that_ bad. Let me rephrase it: You wanna dance while I move awkwardly around you like a sky dancer?"

Newt laughs, covering his mouth, "Yes, I would like that." he stands up and goes to the dance floor with Thomas.

The music continued as well as the dancing. Thomas was so happy he got to dance with Newt, even in front of his dads. Derek had caught a glimpse of them but shrugged and kept Stiles with him, his back at them. The little imps (Aiden & Ethan) had been doing their shenanigans all around the place, stealing food from the snacks table and hiding from their parents. Malia did danced but she had her phone on her hand all the time in case it rang. Max and Alex danced with their dads, switching every now and then.

When a new song started playing, Malia got out of the dance floor. Sitting down on the table beside her parents she sighed, taking a sip from her drink. Her cell phone vibrates and she checks it.

Her eyes widen and she lets out a sigh, looking at her parents, "I'm in!" Peter and Lydia smile at each other, "I passed." she says with a frown, as if she doesn't believe it. Lydia stands up hugs her, followed by Peter. "I'm gonna go and text Kira!" and with that she stands up and runs to the bathroom. Peter and Lydia looked at each other with pride and smiled.

Scott and Isaac step up to the dance floor, the dark-haired man with the microphone on hand, "Can I have everyone's attention, please?" when everyone went to sit to let them talk, he continued, "Ok, first we want to thank all of our friends and family for coming to join us and celebrating this very, very special birthday today. Thank you!" everyone applauds, "Our babies are 15! Could you believe this?" he asks to the sandy blonde, who shakes his head smiling. They then turn to their kids, "To our beloved Max and Alex, you have brought so much joy and love to your dads. Um, we love you so very much and-" he smiles at them, "You're the best thing that could have happened to us."

You could feel the love over the whole place. Their friends kept smiling at the family in the dance floor. Peter grabbed Lydia's hand, glancing at their children and smiled at her. She smiled back. Stiles smiles in awe and then looks at his husband sitting beside him. Even though Derek didn't turned to look at him, he sneaked his hand to grab the brunet's hand and intertwined their fingers, still looking at the front but now with a smile on his face. Andrew kissed Allison's cheek as she rested her head over his shoulder, her own arms around Newt's shoulders, hugging him.

"Ok, and Max, just so you don't think we forgot about you..." from behind he takes out a new cherry red laptop and gives it to the brunet, "Happy birthday!" said both Scott and Isaac. Max grabs the laptop and looks at his sister, who smiles at him and hugs him. He then hugs his dads, thanking them at least five times.

In that moment the music started playing again, ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHW9txMcJFU)) and everyone stood up from their seats and went to the dance floor,

 

_Everybody!_

_Dancing, baila, move your feet in salsa_

_Feel the rhythm got to hear the beat_

_Hey, you will raise today,_ \- Everybody starts dancing, swinging their hips at the rhythm of the music. Alex starts dancing in the middle of the dance floor, Max, Thomas, Malia and the twins at her sides swinging slowly. Stiles and Derek begin dancing near the snacks table, until the brunet grabs his partner's hand and guides him to the dance floor. Scott laughs at seeing Derek's grumpy face.

_You've come so far_ \- Scott hugs Alex and Max, who grabs the sandy blonde's hand and pulls him into the embrace. She then runs towards Malia and Thomas, accommodating her tiara as they grab both her hands and hug. Max and Thomas bump fists and side-hug. Lydia nudges Peter to take her out to the dance floor, who just rolls his eyes but takes her.

_Fiesta, party, quinceñera, family_ \- Max twirls Alex as she laughs with her eyes closed, grabbing her tiara onto her hair. Malia grabs her brother's and starts dancing with them. Allison claps at her best friend's dancing, grabbing her husband's hand and pulling him into the party. Newt stays behind, looking at everyone having fun. The guests start dancing too, some taking off their shoes so they wouldn't trip. Thomas turn around, his back to Alex as he grabs her arms and puts them at each side of his shoulders, moving two steps forward and one step back.

 

_Hey, show your attitude_ \- Alex starts dancing with her dad's at each side of her; Isaac even lifting her up in the air as she laughs. The twins run underneath the tables and making people laugh as Peter chases them. Alex is seen cutting the cake and eating a piece, the guests applauding and taking pictures. Everybody stops and yell _'Viva carnaval!'_ raising their hands. Max also cuts a piece of cake and eats it, a little falling onto his tux.

_You've come so far_ \- Malia takes off her heels and puts them in the table where Newt was sitting. She looks at him and returns to the dance floor, going near Thomas. She taps his shoulders and points at the blonde sitting alone. As she is dragged by her mother, Thomas keeps looking at the blonde. Some girls pass beside him giving little jumps and trying to take him back to the dance floor.

_Fiesta, party, quinceanera, family,_ \- Alex and Max smirking as they give their dad's a piece of cake but ends up smearing it onto their faces as she laughs. They chase them and kiss their cheeks, leaving cake remains. Thomas approaches Newt and extends his hand towards him. The blonde opens his mouth but shuts it, accepting the brunet's hand and going to the dance floor. They start dancing near Alex and Malia, who grab their hands.

_Come celebrate with me_

_Woo, woo_

_Livin your, livin your dreams_

_Livin your, livin your dreams_

 

_Uno dos tres_ \- they counted and moved to the left. Then again but this time they moved to the right. They held up their arms and swing their hips, following the lyrics.

_1, 2, 3_ \- Alex danced with Scott and then changed to Isaac as everybody raised their arms and clapped. Peter and Derek came from behind and lifted up Alex, with her opening her arms to the air and smiling from ear to ear as everyone applauded.

_Fiesta, party, quinceanera, family_ \- Newt lets out a laugh as he closes his eyes, for looking at Thomas dancing. The brunet shrugs, not noticing why the other one was laughing but he kind of liked it. Lydia send kisses to the dark haired girl and the brunet boy, grabbing Stiles' arm as she did so. Malia had a red cup in her hand and was giving little jumps with her bare feet. Allison and Andrew were swinging slowly, his arms around her waist and her back glued to his chest. Confetti fell from the ceiling, and so did balloons, filling the room with them. Thomas grabbed Newt's hand and twirled him a few times, smiling as the blonde closed his eyes and laughed, his beautiful voice drowning any other sound. When he stops, the blonde almost falls but he manages to hold him by the waist, pressing their bodies together.

_Fiesta, party, quinceanera, family_ \- Newt smiles at him. A red cup collides with Thomas's head breaking the moment. Thomas turns to see Malia and the twins laughing at him, so he runs towards them, specifically the girl and began chasing her. Newt went behind the twins, tickling them every time he reached them. Malia hide behind Alex as Thomas tried to reach out for her. He lunges at the dark haired girl, hugging her and also grabbing Malia and joining her to the embrace as they all three laughed. Their families rolled their eyes but smiled and laughed at the teens.

 

 

_"Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life." - Omar Khayyam._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Sorry if it was kind of short, and sorry that the next one will be equally short T.T


	14. New Day, New Friends, New Adventures

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! I had to upload the chapter now cus I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it over the next days.  
> I've been feeling horrible, I can't even get up from my bed without feeling dizzy. I went to the doctor and he told me it had something to do with vertigo... something like that. He gave me a shot and I'm taking pills, but if I get worse (or don't get better) I'll have to go to an ENT doctor.
> 
> Anyways, I'll let you enjoy this chapter! In this chapter more TMR characters will be introduced!~

Morning came as usual; quietly, not even the typical bird's chirps you could expect. Thomas opened his eyes, getting them used to the light as he tossed around the bed. Looking at his night stand, he groaned. _'Why do I have to be awake so early?'_ As he sat on his bed, his eyes fell on his calendar. First day of senior year.

Oh, right. Today was the first day of senior year. Cool. Just one more year to college. One more year with his friends. One more year with Newt. He frowned. One more year with him _even though he isn't your boyfriend._ His thoughts were interrupted by Stiles' voice on the other side of the door.

_"Thomas? Are you awake? You don't wanna be late on the first day of your last year, do you?"_

"I'm up, I'm up!" groaned Thomas as he brushed his eyes.

 _"Then come downstairs for some breakfast! I made scrambled eggs!"_ and then his voice disappeared; must went downstairs again.

After taking a long, warm shower, Thomas -all dressed up and backpack over his shoulder- went downstairs and found his pops finishing making breakfast. He yawned as he entered the room,

Stiles turned around, "Good morning!" Thomas let out a grunt as he plopped down on the seat, "Well, I hope you slept well too." he kisses his son's hair, "Now, here we go, most important meal of the day..." he starts listing the food, "Eggs sunny side up, bacon, toast and just in case you're really hungry..." he puts another plates, "a stack of humongous chocolate chip pancakes which smell incredible, if I do say so myself."

"Thanks..."

"Now I'm going to go and take a shower. Then I'll take you to school." he said as he went out of the kitchen.

"You know, if I had my own vehicle I could simple go and not being bothering you all the time." said Thomas as he grinned.

Stiles snorts as he goes upstairs, _"Nice try!"_ Thomas chuckles, grabbing a piece of bacon and biting it.

 

* * *

 

Arriving at school early was one of the things Thomas wasn't a fan of. There were few students there and he couldn't understand why people like to get up so early, not even all teachers were there yet! Groaning, he went to his locker and started getting his books out. After a few more minutes, he saw Minho approaching him. His best friend had a curious look, looking around as if not believing Thomas was there,

Thomas nodded at him, "Hey, what's up?"

"Hey. You're here."

"Yeah,"

"Early."

"Yeah?"

"You're here early."

"Man, nothing gets past those keen senses, huh?" Minho shoves him playfully, making the brunet chuckle. A voice behind them make them turn around,

A guy a little bit taller than them was standing behind them. He had dark skin, dark eyes, little bit of muscles, was wearing a dark green shirt and had a schedule on his hand, "Sorry, didn't meant to interrupt, but do you know where is the AP Biology class?"

The guy nodded, "Thanks, man. This schedule is so messed up I can't even find my first class."

Minho nods, "Yeah, Mrs. Jackson makes those."

"Pardon my french, but she sucks."

Minho's eyes widen and he pats Thomas' shoulders, both of them laughing. He turns to the other guy and bumps fists, "You seem cool, dude. What's your name?"

But before the dark skinned guy could speak,

"Oh my God! _Alby?!_ "

They all turned to look at the end of the hall and saw Newt standing there, holding his satchel while looking at them. The blonde's face illuminated as he saw the other guy. A big smile over his face, and Thomas tried not to feel jealous as Newt ran towards them- more like towards the dark skinned boy.

 _"Alby!"_ he ran to the dark skinned boy -Alby- and into his arms, engulfing him in a hug. _Oh_ , something inside Thomas was boiling right now. They separate but were still too close for the brunet's like, "I-I can't believe you! You're here!"

"Yes, I am."

"You didn't told me you were-

"It wouldn't be a surprise if you knew."

Someone's throat got cleared and they turned to look at Thomas and Minho, who were waiting for an introduction.

Newt separated from Alby "Oh, right," and smiled, "I've seen you've met Alby. Sterling, tough, dependable, honest, brave, and true."

Alby chuckled, "Newt, please."

The blonde hit his shoulder softly, "Oh, shut it, Alby. You know I don't mean a word of it." he still had a big smile on his face, "These guys here are Minho and Thomas." he said pointing at them. Alby offered his hand, shaking hands with the other two.

"Nice to meet you." he said with a firm tone.

"Same."

"Nice to meet you, dude."

"I hope you've been taking care of our Newt here." the blonde chuckled, nudging him.

"Well, this guy here sure did." said Minho, leaning against the brunet, winking an eye.

Alby was about to ask what did that mean, but fortunately he seemed to shake it off. He looked back at Newt, "Well, I have one more surprise."

"Really? And what would that-" suddenly a pair of hands covered his eyes and he stopped talking. Thomas and Minho stared at the guy behind Newt: he had dirty blonde hair and dark brown eyes. He uncovered the blonde's eyes and when he turned around, his frown became a smile. Again. Thomas growled. Was this the 'Everyone make Newt smile' day?!

"Oh God, Gally!" he hugs the other guy, apparently named Gally, "Wh-what are you-" his eyes widen, "You transferred here too?!"

Thomas growled, _'Great. More people who know Newt.'_

"Yeah. Me and Alby talked about it with our folks and they seemed fine with it. Besides, you weren't gonna get rid of us that eas-" he stopped talking when he saw Minho. He narrowed his eyes and then they widen; Minho's did the same, "YOU!" he said pointing at the Asian.

 _"YOU!"_ Minho did the same. Then they reached for the other and bumped fists, then hugged sideways. The rest of them were left confused.

"You two know each other?"

Minho turns at his best friend, "Remember that camp my mom made me go? The one at England?" Thomas nods, "Well, while being there I met this shank and we hit it off. He's pretty cool."

"Wait, this is the guy you met in that camp that you said he was cool but he used too much hair products?"

Minho made an offended face, a hand on his chest, "I do not! Thomas, tell them!"

"I think you use more products than Teresa." Newt laughed at that.

In that moment the bell rings. Ignoring Minho's tantrum, Newt turns to his old friends, "Oh! Which classes do you have now?"

"AP Biology."

"Math."

Newt groaned, "Ugh, bloody hell. I have Econ. What about your next class?"

"Physics." both Alby and Gally said.

"Great! We have Physics too, right, Tommy?" the brunet nodded, "We'll see you there. Come on," he grabs Thomas' hand and they run to their class.

Alby and Gally look at each other and then at Minho. Alby talks first, "Are they-

"What? Horrible people who hurt other people's feelings and have permanents hard-on's for each other? Yeah." And with that he went to his class. The two guys stared at each other and shrugged, going to their respective class.

Gally found the Math class just around the corner. He putted away his schedule as he entered the room; the teacher was already there, taking out her things and not really paying attention to the class. Fortunately his eyes found an empty seat near the door and he went there.

He's about to sit when he quickly sees the boy beside him, _"Oh!"_ he groans.

The guy sitting next to him turns his head until he's looking at Gally, tossing his hair a little as he does so. He had short light brown hair, pale green eyes and light olive skin. He's chewing something. _Gum._ Gally could swear he saw the whole thing in slow motion.

"Great." he sighs.

The guy blows a bubble with his gum with a stern look, and then turns his head to the front while Gally stands there awkwardly. He looks around the classroom for another seat but there's none left; just the one next to this guy. He can feel the eyes of some students as he stands there for a couple of seconds. Reluctantly he sits down. After he sits, he stirs and feels something weird on his seat. He lifts up and hears a 'squeeze' sound; lifting his body a little more he discovers that he sat in gum. The dirty blonde guy looks back mad at the other guy, who was staring at him with a smirk. Gally bites his nails, and looks at the front, praying for this day to move faster.

 

* * *

 

Over the History class, Minho, Teresa and Sonya were writing down everything the teacher was writing and drawing over the board. He occasionally looked at his book over his desk and turned back to continue writing. Sonya was sitting in the middle of the room, just like she always did when it was History class. She loved that class. Minho was at her left, and Teresa was in the seat in front of him.

The teacher had his back at them, writing over the board as he talked, "In much the same way that Homo ergaster is now thought to be a separate species from Homo erectus..."

Minho starts laughing quietly, gaining Sonya's attention, "What?"

He turns to her, "He said _'erectus'_." he says while laughing.

Sonya stares at him in disbelief, "You're... you're kidding, right?"

"No, he really said it." she rolls her eyes and continues writing, focusing on her notebook instead of her goofy boyfriend.

The teacher continued his talking, "And while there are certainly vast differences between these Mesozoic fossiles and the example of Homo erectus--"

Teresa laughs to herself, her eyes on her notebook as she writes down. Minho hears her and leans forward with a grin, " _Erectus?_ " he asks.

She shakes her head, still laughing, " _Homo._ " Minho starts laughing with her. Sonya looks between them and rolls her eyes, ignoring those two. They are just like kids.

Minho sprawled back on his seat, letting go of his pen to rest his hand. It was just the first day yet he felt so tired and he didn't want to write. He looked over his girlfriend, who was paying attention at the teacher. Typical. He let his eyes wander over Teresa's back. She seemed to be writing too, the swings of her black hair every time she looked up at the board and back at her notes give it away.

She had nice hair, he noticed. It was black like the night yet soft. Yes, he has felt it. Several times. He hasn't smelled it, though. Still looking at it, he wondered what her hair smelled like. Fruity or floral? Maybe both? Sonya's hair smelled like coconut. He didn't like coconut but he couldn't tell her that. His mom's hair smelled like strawberries. It was nice.

He kept wondering how Teresa's hair smelled when his pen almost fell from his grip and onto the floor. He managed to grab it without making too much of a deal. Looking around carefully to see if anyone had noticed it, he let out a sigh. _'Where the hell did that came from?'_ Shaking his head, he grabbed his pen and started writing again.

 

* * *

 

When the bell rang again announcing the next class, Thomas and Newt exited their classroom and went to their lockers. As they were walking through the halls, Thomas cleared his throat and started,

"So... Alby and Gally,"

"Yeah, they're my best friends. They're like my Minho and Teresa, y'know?" he chuckles, "God, I didn't realized how much I missed them until I saw them."

"That much?"

"Yes," they arrived at their lockers, "Last time I saw him was just before we moved to Beacon Hills. I couldn't get to see him at school, so..."

What? Why? Did he went to another school? Or maybe he was in another group? In another year? He did seemed older but-- what?

Opening his locker and taking out his books he asked, "Wait, Alby looks older than us. I mean, not that much but he certainly isn't seventeen. How old is he?"

"Nineteen."

 _"Nineteen?!"_ Newt nods, "Wh-what? How? Is he like dumb or a troublemaker?" _'Nice, Thomas.'_

Newt rolls his eyes and looks at him, "He had to drop out of his senior year 'cus his mother became sick and she couldn't work, so... he had to work instead of studying." the blonde closes his locker.

Oh. Now Thomas felt like a douche. _'Good job, Thomas.'_

"Yeah, he was a year older back in England, but now he'll finish high school with us. I'm so happy!" he said with a smile.

Thomas growled inside, "That's... that's great." he said in a not so happy tone.

Newt eyes him, "Are you alright, Tommy?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? We're going to finish high school all together!" he answered with fake enthusiasm.

Newt leaned back on his locker, looking directly at him, "You aren't... jealous, are you?" a small smile appeared on his face.

Thomas turned to him, " _WHAT?!_ Me, _jealous_?" Newt nods, "Please, why-why would I be jealous? I'm not the jealous type, please. Me jealous, _pfft_."

Newt just stares at him and without looking away he says "Minho, is he jealous?"

"You bet your sweet ass he is." says Minho -who came out of nowhere- as he walks beside them, not stopping or looking at them; he goes and stands beside a tall blonde guy and they start talking, completely ignoring Thomas.

Thomas stared at his best friend's back, _'You traitor!'_ and then back at Newt, who was smirking at him. _'God, he looks so sexy.'_ Groaning he closes his locker and walks to his class. Newt follows him close, still smirking. _'He's not going to let go of that so easily.'_

As they pass beside Minho, and without Newt noticing, Thomas hits the Asian guy on the back of the head. All he heard was Minho groaning after he entered the classroom.

Gally exited the bathroom, wearing navy shorts. He had to change into the shorts he brought in case he had PE today. His gummed jeans were in his backpack. Just as he walked past the crowd of students, he saw the light brunet guy near a classroom talking with a pretty blonde girl.

_Shit!_

He turned around before the guy could see him and spotted Minho talking to a tall blonde guy. When the other guy leaved he approached him, gripping Minho by the shoulders. The Asian turned around,

"Hey, you survived Math class. Why do you have shorts? Didn't you had pants?"

"No, what're you talking about? I did not. Look, do you know him?" he asked pointing at the guy on the other side of the hall talking to Sonya.

"Aris Jones? Yes, he's one of our classmates. And he's friends with my girlfriend, the one he's talking right now."

Gally nodded, "Has he said anything weird?"

"Something weird? Like what?"

Gally shrugs nonchalantly, "I don't know. School? Grades? Friends? Me?"

"Why would he say something about y-

"I need to go! I'll see you in Physics!" and with that he ran through the halls, running towards his locker. Minho stood there and shrugged, turning around and walking away.

Gally ran towards his locker, stopping in front of it. He looked around and saw none of the guys. He nodded to himself, _'that's good.'_ ; he turns around and lifts a hand to his lock, barely touching it when the locker next to him closes and the same guy from before _-Aris-_ is there, a frown on his face after seeing Gally.

 _'Well, karma is a bitch.'_ thought Gally as he sighed and tried to open his locker, but his hands were playing with the lock.

Aris looks down and grins, "Nice shorts.”

Gally makes a mocking face, "Yeah, thanks." Aris begins locking his locker, "You know, I was wondering if you were still pissed off about what happened on 9th grade, but uh, I guess you cleared that up."

Aris looks at him, "I'm not pissed off, Gally." the tall guy feels relief for a moment, before the light brunet glares at him, "I'm vengeful." and then he leaves. Gally groans and hits his head over the lockers.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the classes passed normal. After the bell rang, everyone exited their classrooms and went straight either to their lockers or to the exit. The gang were talking as they walked through the hallways,

"So? Wanna go and eat something? I'm starving," said Minho, an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders.

"Yeah, sure." said Thomas. Teresa also nodded.

"You guys? Wanna go and grab something?" asked Newt to his friends.

"Sure,"

Gally shrugged, "You know I'm always in when there's food involved."

Newt smiled, "Great! And then we can go to my house. My mom will be so happy to see you again."

Thomas was glaring at the two boys who were close to Newt. He shouldn't feel like that. Newt and him weren't nothing. Besides, those two were just friends. _Good_ friends. Thomas growled, "Thomas, your psycho-jealous frown is showing." whispered Minho leaning next to him.

"Shut up."

The Asian snorts and kisses Sonya's cheek. He then groans, his stomach growling, "I'm craving pizza."

Teresa rolls her eyes, "You're always craving pizza." Minho takes out his tongue at her, making the girl laugh while looking at him. In that moment she collides with someone, "Oh, sorry!"

"No, I'm the one who's- Teresa?"

The girl turns her head at the one who collided with her and her eyes widen, "Aris?" she smiles at him _"Oh my God!"_ and they hug, leaving the rest of the gang confused. Minho and Thomas looked back at each other and mouthed if they knew what was that about. Thomas shook his head and Minho shrugged.

 _"Oh!!"_ they separate but their hands were still over each other's shoulders, "I can't believe- wait. Where you here last year?"

The guy smiles, "Yeah. You too?"

"Yes! How come we never met in the hallways or in classes?" she turns to look at the gang, "Oh, right! Sorry. He's Aris. He's an good old friend." they all nodded at him.

"Well, who would have said it. Beacon Hills is the center of the universe, everyone is in here." said Minho, making Newt chuckle, "Well, any friend of our friends is our friend too."

"It appears so." mutters Thomas.

Minho ignores him, "We were gonna go and get some pizza. Wanna come with us?"

Aris looks like he's going to say 'no' but the dark haired girl turns to him with pleading eyes, "Please come! Please!"

He sighs and smiles, "You know I'm always a slut for free food. Especially pizza." Teresa's eyes shine brighter and she hooks her arm over his arm.

Alby clears his throat, catching everyone's attention, "Well, now that we're all complete, may I suggest go for that pizza?"

"Pizza!" yelled Minho, making Sonya shove him playfully.

They all agreed with him and walked to the school's exit door. As they were walking, Minho approached Aris,

"You don't think I use too much hair products, do ya? No? I like you."

 

* * *

 

Over the pizza parlor, the whole gang were seated in a big table (two tables were needed as they were more people than usual) near the corner of the place and were eating comfortably. Alby was currently telling them a story,

"And then I had to go back to school as fast as I could but didn't had any money for a taxi. So I took my uncle's car and drove back to school, and in my way back a cop pulls me over." the gang groans, Minho throwing him a napkin.

As he continued telling them their story, Gally went to grab a napkin and found another hand over it; Aris' hand. He looked at the light brunet as he turned his head to another way, ignoring him. The dirty blonde frowned but grabbed a napkin either way.

"-And then I told him: Just because you see a black guy driving a nice car does not mean it's stolen... Okay, I stole that one, but not 'cause I'm black!" they all started laughing.

As the laughter died, Thomas was the first to talk, "So, where are you two staying? Are you like Teresa and this shank over here?" he pointed at Minho, "Living at an apartment all by themselves?"

Gally was the first to answer, "My aunt lives here, so I'm staying with her."

"What about you, Alby?"

"I'm staying with him," he answered as he patted Gally's back.

"Poor unfortunate soul." muttered Aris as he looked away, taking a sip from his drink. That didn't went unnoticed by Gally and Teresa.

"Ok," Sonya starts, "We now know about you two, so nice to meet you, so the next one is Aris." they all turn to the boy sitting next Teresa, "What's your story? How did you two met?" she asked pointing between him and Teresa.

Teresa answers, "We were together in the system. The adoption system."

"Really? So you two know each other since you were little?"

"Yeah, you should have seen him when little," she finishes chewing, "He was so cute, he was always pouting and he was missing a tooth."

Aris snorts, " _Me?_ I wasn't the one who draw a mustache on their face and said she was Theodore Roosevelt." they all laugh. The slurps of his empty cup made Aris to stand up. He turned to the raven girl, "I'm going for more soda, you want some?"

She shook her head, "Nah, I'm fine."

The light brunet nodded and went to where the soda fountain dispenser was. As everyone were talking and eating, Gally stood up, grabbing his coke cup and went to the soda fountain, standing next to Aris.

"So... How are you?"

"Really? That's your best line?" asks Aris looking at him.

"Look, I get it. You're still mad-" Aris raises an eyebrow, "Vengeful, ok, vengeful. About 9th grade, and I get it but-

"Yeah, you'll invent an excuse to get out of this. I know you'll do." answers Aris not even looking at him.

Gally groans, putting his cup under the machine, "No, I- _ugh!_ Please, let me explain. I-" he stops talking. Aris, noticing the silence, turns his head and finds Teresa beside him, holding her cup. Gally was looking at her.

The green eyed brunet hums, "I thought you had said you didn't want-"

"I changed my mind."

Gally finishes filling his coke cup and returns to the table. Aris continues as if nothing, while Teresa stares at him,

"Okay, what's between you and Gally?"

"What'd you mean?"

"You know. The glances, the uncomfortable touches, the way you curse him thinking nobody is listening. And now he trying to 'explain' something to you? So? Spill."

Aris shrugs, acting nonchalantly, "I don't have any idea of what you're talking about."

Teresa narrows her eyes, "You're gonna spill it out eventually. Maybe not now, maybe not tomorrow, but soon you'll do it."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night,"

Teresa rolls her eyes and shoves him, "Shut it. Come on," they walk back at the table and a feet away from sitting, Teresa's phone rings. She looks at the screen and frowns, then her eyes widen, "Oh, _shoot!_ " everyone looks at her as she grabs her backpack, "My boss wants me to go and organize some books in 5 minutes! Her babysitter cancelled in the last moment and-- ugh! I don't wanna do it alone."

"I'll help you." said Aris.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I don't have anywhere else to go."

"God, I could kiss you!" she went to hug Thomas, then Minho, Newt and everyone else, "Goodbye, guys! See you tomorrow at school, okay?" she and Aris went to the parlor entrance.

"Drive carefully." told her Thomas.

"Yeah!" and with that they leave. Moments later, Minho and Sonya start gathering their things too.

"Well, I guess I'll be leaving too." said Minho.

Thomas frowned, "Why? We don't have homework. Something important you need to do?"

"Yes, indeed. I wanna take a nap."

Sonya smiles, "And I need to go and have dinner with my grandparents." she eyes the pizza box, "I'm not sure how I'm gonna do that. Maybe I'll take them to a place where we can eat lighter. And they need coffee, they get tired with it."

Thomas' eyes widen at the word 'coffee' and immediately turns pale, "Crap. What time is it?"

Alby looks at his watch, "4:36 p.m."

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" the brunet practically launched up from the table, "I was supposed to be at work!" he launched to grab his backpack that was under the table.

"But today we don't have to work." said Minho as he calmly gave him his backpack.

"Yeah, but Marissa asked me to help her with some things! Shit, she's going to kill me!" he took out his wallet, "And I don't have enough money for a taxi, _ugh!_ "

"Thomas, calm down. I'll drive you, okay? Don't worry,"

"You're going to sacrifice your beauty sleep to help me?" Minho nods, "Man, I love you!"

"I know." he kisses his girlfriend and together with her he stands up, grabbing his satchel too.

Alby, Gally and Newt stand up too, grabbing their things and everyone goes outside. Thomas said goodbye to Gally, Alby and approached Newt, kissing his cheek when no one was seeing. The blonde chuckled as Thomas ran to Minho's car, opening the co-driver's door and entering.

Minho putted his arms around Sonya's waist, "I'll call you before taking a shower, okay?"

"Yeah," they leaned forward, joining their lips into a kiss.

 _"Come on, Min!"_ yelled Thomas through the window.

Minho turned his face to him, "Not my fault you can't do this with your own blonde, my friend." Newt's face flushed and he looked away as his friend looked at him confused.

_"MINHO USED TO SLEEP WITH A BERT AND ERNIE'S BLANKET-_

"Shut it, shut it!" the Asian separates from his girlfriend and runs to his car, "Geez! I don't know why I'm not kicking your sorry ass out of my car." he says as he hops inside his car, closing the door. He starts the car and leaves.

Sonya smiles at the rest of the gang. She said her goodbyes and she leaves too.

"So, what now?" asked Gally as they walked to his car.

"Wanna go to my house?" asked Newt.

"You still have Mario Kart?"

"Yeah,"

"Let's go to his house!" yelled Gally as he opened his car's door and entered.

 

* * *

 

Driving at Newt's house was easy as the blond gave Gally the address. They were in Gally's black crossover SUV. Once they arrived at the house and parked the car, they walked towards the entrance. As Newt searched for his keys, Gally spoke,

"Your mom's at home?"

"I think so, but my dad isn't. Working." not finding them in his pockets, he tries on his satchel, "So, what'd you think about the guys?"

"They seem nice." says Alby.

The dirty blonde nods, "You have good friends."

"Don't worry, Gally, you're always first." mocked Newt, half his hand inside the satchel.

Gally nudged at the dark skinned guy and the other nodded. He cleared his throat, "Yes, they seem nice. Minho is a crazy guy, and the girls are sweet yet not delicate. The other guy I didn't get to know him too well, but he seems nice," he missed the part were Gally whistled, "And that Thomas seems pretty cool too."

"He is. Tommy is such a nice guy. He was actually the first one I met on my first day here," he laughed at the memory. They were standing in front of the door.

"So what's going on with this Tommy and you, huh?"

Newt stops in his tracks and stiffs. He quickly composes and turns to look at his friends, "What do you mean?"

Alby gives him a look, "Newt."

"What?

"Newt," this time is Gally, who looks like he's trying to grin.

"I don't know what-

_"Newton."_

"Don't _'Newton'_ me! I'm telling the truth!"

Gally looks at the dark skinned guy, "Maybe we could ask his mom. I bet she knows." and rings the bell.

Newt's eyes widen, "Don't you bloody dare do that!" and worriedly looks at the door.

"Oh, mom doesn't know. Maybe his dad-

"Okay, okay, okay! Fine! I'll tell you! But just slim it until we're at my bedroom, okay?!"

Gally and Alby look at each other and then nod at Newt. As the blonde turns to the door and waits for the door to be open, the other two bump fists without looking at the other, their eyes on the blonde's back.

The door opens and Allison is standing there, wearing a long sleeve wine blouse and black knee length skirt. She seemed to be going somewhere, her purse on her right hand.

Alby nodded at her, "Hello, Mrs. Reed, you look beautiful as always,"

"Oh my God!" she goes and hugs them, "Wh- _what?_ How are you- I mean-" she smiles as they enter the house. It was just like when Newt saw them at school. Like mother like son, they guessed. "Ugh, I don't have time, sorry." she turns to her son, "Newt, honey, I need to go out, work calls. I leaved money for food, it's over the counter. I wish I could stay so you told me how are you here but it'll be for another time, ok?"

"Ok, Mrs. Reed. But you owe us." said Alby smiling.

"You bet." she smiles and sends kisses, "Goodbye! Feel yourselves at home." and with one last smile she closed the door.

Hearing the car starting and then leaving, Alby turned to the tall dirty blonde, "Gally, prepare some snacks. Newt, lead us to your room and prepare to tell us about the boy with brown hair."

 

* * *

 

Over the library, Teresa and Aris were putting the books back in order in their shelves, their backs facing each other. Her boss hadn't mind the brunet being there and helping, though she told Aris she couldn't pay him as he didn't worked for her. He said he wasn't doing it for the money and she said she like him, and if he needed a job he could work here.

"So? Gonna tell me now or-?"

"Teresa..."

"What, I was just starting a conversation, that's all!"

He turns to her, a book on his hand, "Want me to help you or want me to go and leave yo finish this all by yourself?"

"Okay, okay! I'll stop!" he grins, " _Geez_ , don't twist your panties." she turns back to her bookshelf and continues. She grabs another book form the cart and sees the cover. She glances back at Aris and smirks, " _'The Tell-Tale Heart'_. Interesting, don't you think? We were talking about something you're hiding and then I grabbed this book unconsciously. Mm..."

"Teresa, I didn't murder someone and then hide their dismembering body under a house."

"I didn't say that, I was just pointing out one of your favorite's authors. You're the one who talked about a body, not me."

Aris rolls his eyes and turns to continue arranging the books but then stops. Teresa notices that and stops too, "Wait, wait. Don't you hear that?" Teresa frowns and looks around, "It sounds like... like a heart still beating under the floorboards."

Teresa throws him a cushion, making the guy chuckle, "Very funny,"

He continues with the books, "You won't be able to seduce me with Edgar Allan Poe's stories so I tell you what's going on, not matter how hard you try it."

"So there is something going on! Aha!" he ignored her and went to the other side of the bookshelf. The raven girl looked at him and did the same with her own bookshelf. She looked up at the same time he did and their eyes met, "I'm sorry,"

"It's not your fault, it's just... I'll tell you when I'm ready."

"And I'll be waiting. Just like the cat in this book." she says showing him _'The Black Cat'_ book.

That makes him laugh.

 

* * *

 

Over the coffee shop Thomas and Minho work, the brunet was settling the napkins in the napkin holders while Minho was opening some boxes and taking out everything that was inside. While sitting over the counter doing that, Thomas started thinking about Newt and the guys.

 _'They seemed pretty cool, actually. I think they're like brothers, like me and Minho.'_ he glances over the Asian, who sniff a thermos and then frowns, putting it aside. Thomas chuckles, _'But... I still feel that I will lose Newt to them. They know him better than any of us. They got to spend time with him.'_ And without realizing it, he started crumpling the napkins in his hands.

Minho looks from the boxes at him, "Thomas, I think those napkins were innocent, not matter what you think."

The brunet let go of the napkins and sighs, "Sorry. I can't stop thinking about Newt and Alby and Gally. I'm being stupid. Talk to me so I get distracted, okay?"

"Yeah, I can do that."

"Thanks." he continued taking out napkins and settling them in the holders, "What'd you think they're doing right now?"

"Don't know, threesome?"

"Minho!"

"What?! You wanted me to talk!"

Thomas groans, "Forget it." and turns his back at him.

Minho puts the boxes aside and walks towards his best friend. He nudges his leg, "Hey, stop worrying too much. They're just his friends. It's like Teresa and I, only we are hotter." the brunet snorts, "It's okay to feel threaten by other guys, especially the ones who know him longer than you." he runs his hand over his mouth, "You said you really liked him, didn't you? That you wanted to date him for real, not just for sex."

"Yeah,"

"If you're still holding onto that ideal, there's only one thing to do."

Thomas stares at him, frowning in confusion as the Asian leans forward and in a serious tone he says,

"Pick your ass up and finish what you started."

 

 

_"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like." - Lao Tzu._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So......... did you like it? What'd you thought about Alby, Gally and Aris? What about Tommy feeling jealous? And Minho at History class? What about Gally and Aris, huh?  
> I don't know when I will be able to upload the next chapter, but don't worry. I'll try to do it the sooner I can! See you later, my dear ones!


	15. There's Always A Silver Lining

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm feeling a little better. Still feeling dizzy but way better than last week. I'm sure in a few days it will go away, but in the meantime I decided to upload the chapter today (I was going to do it tomorrow, but have homework from the days I didn't went to school)  
> Putting all that aside, I hope you like this new chapter! I'm getting so excited to where this story is going~

Early in the morning _-yes, again-_ Thomas was taking his stuff out of his locker, thinking about yesterday events. Yesterday had been a good day. First day of senior year but also he made new friends -Newt's friends- and got a good advice from Minho.

_"Pick your ass up and finish what you started."_

He was right. He did like Newt. He wanted to be with him but what about the blonde? Did he felt the same? He didn't seemed to mind when Thomas touches his arm or hand, or when he's too close. He himself is something grabbing the brunet's hand and stuff like that. Ugh, love sucks. Why did people was always looking for it anyways?

Out of the corner of his eyes, he was Minho yawning and walking towards the lockers. He stopped at seeing Thomas there, looking around. He seemed sleepy.

"Hey," and turned back to his locker. Moments later he felt a finger poking his cheek. He turned to look at the Asian staring at him,

"You seem so vivid."

Thomas rolled his eyes and moved aside his hand, "I'm real, you dumb shank. I woke up early, that's all."

Teresa came right after, holding her satchel over her shoulder,

"Hey, what's up?"

Minho points at the brunet, "Thomas woke up early two days in a roll."

She looks up, "It's gonna snow today." Thomas rolled his eyes.

"You two are here early too, you know."

Teresa nods, "Yes, but it's more realistic Minho or me to be here, not you. This must be an X-Files episode."

"I just woke up early like yesterday, that's all. Today my clock alarm didn't woke me so I thought I was late. My dad didn't told me I was wrong, so... Here I am." he closed his locker, turning to his friends.

Minho started taking his books out too, "Let's just ignore that. Tomorrow you'll be here minutes before the bell rings, I know. I have faith in you." both Teresa and Thomas rolled their eyes, "Anyways, it's the first week of school. Maybe we won't have that much homework, I hope so, so we can prepare for... _you know_."

"For what?"

"For you to woo Newt, obviously." Teresa laughed, "I'm serious, woman. This shank here needs to get laid. Seriously, man. You're so sexually frustrated, _I'm_ getting sexually frustrated. And I have a girlfriend,"

The raven girl trembles, " _Ugh_ , didn't needed to know that, Minho." she groans.

Minho shrugs and closes his locker, "Anyway, we have work to do. We need to help you get with Newt, especially because there's only a few days for your birthday."

Teresa nods, "You're right."

"Aren't I'm always?" he grinned at his friend. Then looks at Thomas, "Oh! And I have a great idea for your birthday party--

"No, no, no. No more ideas coming from you. No more. Your last one ended pretty bad, thank you very much."

"Which last on- _oh!_ " his eyes widen, making Thomas nod, "Oh, _that_ one, hehe. You've got to admit you almost got laid because of me."

 

* * *

 

At lunch time over the cafeteria, half the place was filled with students. The other half must be outside, talking or eating there. Usually students ate at the cafeteria. The gang was currently at the line, picking their food.

Minho sniffs the air, "Mm, I love the smell of food at the morning."

"You love it at every hours." says Teresa, making the Asian to push her playfully, "Okay, I want pasta, some fries, a salad and water." she said as she grabbed the food. She made her way to the table, where Newt, Alby and Thomas already there.

_"Come on, Aris, or I'll eat the fries!"_

The light brunet chuckled and turned to the food; his tray was almost full except for the dessert. He saw the desserts section and today was pudding. Chocolate and vanilla puddings. There were still several of chocolate. And it only was one left of vanilla.

He went to grab it but another hand made contact with his. He looked at Sonya, who smiled,

"Oh, sorry. I wasn't looking."

"No, it's okay." she smiles and retracts her hand, "No, no, you take it."

She smiles again and grabs the pudding, "Thanks." and goes to the table. Aris grabs another apple when a pudding is right in front of him. He raises an eyebrow, looking at Gally.

"You want mine?"

Aris stares at him and then at the pudding, then back again at Gally. Instead of answering, he turns around and walks away, muttering something between 'who he thinks he is?' and 'a simple pudding isn't going to fix things'.

Without noticing, Minho passes beside him and grabs his pudding, "I'll take it." and making a 'peace' sign he runs to the table.

Gally looks at his tray, at his hand and at the Asian, "Hey, I didn't say you could take it! Come here, you shank!"

At the table, the gang was already sat and eating, casually talking between bites of food. Minho sat between Sonya and Thomas. On the left side were Teresa, Aris, Newt and Alby. On the other side were Thomas, Minho, Sonya and the empty seat Gally took.

Newt was the first to start, "So, anyone has homework already?"

Teresa started, "Well, Mr. Gallaraga made us do an essay for Friday but that's all."

"I like Mr. G, he's nice." said Minho as he ate, Sonya nodded, "Not like Mr. Collins. He's an ogre."

Gally takes a sip from his drink, "Oh, we had class with him today."

"Really? And how was it?"

"He's an ogre," they all chuckled.

"And, how's your second day at Beacon Hills going?" asked Teresa to Alby and Gally. While they all talk, Sonya got up to go to the bathroom. Minho started taking a few of her fries and tries to grab some of Teresa's but she batted his hand away. Thomas looked from his food and at the blonde's direction; he was talking to Alby and laughing. For some reason, Thomas didn't felt jealous about that. Newt seemed to notice he was being watch as he turned his head directly at Thomas' and smiled, then continued hearing his friends talk. Thomas smiled at himself. Yep, a mystery.

"Oh, I have a great idea!" said Minho wiping his hands, "What if after school, we go and grab something to eat? Maybe even go to watch a movie."

Teresa clapped, "I'm in!" the Asian hit the table as in happy someone was in, "There's a really good movie about these group of teenagers that are trapped in a maze."

"In a maze? That's harsh," says Alby. Gally nods in agreement.

"I'm in, too." said Thomas.

Newt nodded, "Me too."

"Include us," said Alby as the dirty blonde nodded.

Minho clapped, "Yes! Everyone's in, but what about you?" he asked looking at Aris, who was still quiet. Minho takes a sip from his drink as the rest look at the light brunet.

Teresa turns to him, "What'd you say, Aris? Do you wanna hang out, like us and them?"

The lighter brunet shrugs, "Yeah, I guess. Sounds fun."

"You know what else sounds fun?" says Gally as he grabs a fork, "Stabbing myself in the face with this fork." and does the motion.

"Unfortunately that's not going to fix your face."

Minho snorts, almost spilling his drink. He wipes his mouth, and points to Aris, "I like him."

Thomas laughed when his stomach growled, "Oh, I think I'm still up for something else. I'm gonna get a-

 _"Chocolate pudding!"_ said at the same time Teresa, Minho and Thomas.

"Oh, crap!" groaned the brunet.

The other two bumped fists, "You now have to get us one too, shank." seeing the confusion on the rest of the gang's faces, Minho explains, "Every time we see the other is going to get up and go for something to eat, and we say it at the same time-"

"And right," pipes in Teresa.

"The one who was originally going for that snack now has to get the other person one snack too."

"Why do I always have to get it? It's not fair! You know what flavor I'm going for before I even say it!"

"It's because you don't like vanilla pudding, Tom." answered Teresa.

"I'm gonna start eating vanilla pudding. You'll see..." he said as he stood up, his friends laughing.

But instead of standing up to get the puddings, he collided with someone and fell to the floor, the other's tray beside his hand and the food over his shirt. He looked up ready to apologize but found himself looking at Garrett's smirking face,

"Watch it, Hale."

In a second Thomas was standing up, "What the hell is your problem?!" and was being restrained by Minho in another. The rest of the gang stood up too.

Garrett had a basketball under his armpit, "Me? You were the one who collided against me and threw my food at the floor." the brunet growled at him. Garrett stopped looking at him and instead looked at Alby and Gally, "Hey, you two must be new." he eyes Alby's arms, nodding at him, "You have good arms." and quickly throws the ball at him, with Alby catching it fast, "And good reflexes." Alby throws the ball back at him. Still looking at the dark skinned guy, Garrett kept talking, "What about _YOU!_ " at the same time he yelled 'you', he threw the ball at Aris' direction but it never made contact as Gally stopped it mid-air. With one hand.

"Oh, so you are good too." Gally gave back the ball, "We could use some of those at lacrosse. Or maybe at any other sport. You interested?"

"I don't think anyone wants to be in a team with you, Garrett." spits Thomas.

The blonde looks at him and his stare turns icy. He walks until he's standing in front of Thomas, studying him with his eyes. He opens his mouth to say something but decides not to. He hums, "You're not worth detention."

Garrett turned around and started walking away with his friends. He was a few steps away until something hit the back of his head, making him stop. Everyone in the cafeteria shuts and stays still. His friends gasped and stopped walking too. He touched his neck and found something yellowish and sticky there. _Pudding._ Turning around, he found Thomas still restricted by Minho, but it was obvious he had tossed that. He walked towards the brunet and stood in front of him. He snorted and turned around to leave but instead he turned back and smashes the same pudding on Thomas' shirt.

A handful of spaghetti falls in front of Minho and he raises his head, his eyes wide, "God, no!"

 _"FOOD FIGHT!"_ someone yells and hell sets loose.

Everyone started throwing around food, not mattered at whom or where. The screams got louder every time someone got attacked.

Somewhere in all the screams, Minho let go of Thomas to cover and now the brunet was pushing Garrett to the floor, both of them kicking and trying to hit the other. Teresa threw her pasta at one of Garrett's friends and then someone threw something to her head, sticking it there. Aris was nowhere in sight. Alby and Gally were covering themselves with a tray with one hand and with the other were throwing food. Thomas grabbed the half-empty cup of icing and poured it over Garrett's head. Newt grabbed one of the trays to cover himself, and tried to get Thomas off of the other guy. Minho started yelling, covering his now wet hair with a angry and terrified face.

 

* * *

 

"Second day of classes."

They were all over the principal's office, hearing Miss Paige. Covered in food. Thomas had a variety of food over his shirt. Chocolate pudding, something red and slimy, spots of green and over his jeans white marks. Maybe powder. Where the hell did the powder came from? Who brings powder for lunch?! Next to him was Newt, who had a grayish spot on the front of his shirt and smashed pieces of jell-o on his shoulders. Minho had some of that spaghetti on his knees, well, at least the salsa. A brownish spot on the middle and towards the hem of his shirt, together with a little bit of water dripping down his cheek. Teresa had something tangled over her hair... a banana peel. Her blue shirt had the same slimy red thing Thomas had, but hers was all over her chest and neck. Final, Gally and Alby were the ones who weren't that dirty. Some spots here and there, and maybe a little bit of powder over Gally's hair and a lettuce leaf stuck in Alby's jeans.

Miss Paige continued talking, "Second day of school and we already have people at the principal's office. I can't believe it. You know what's going to happen once principal Jan-"

And as if it were a curse out of Harry Potter's books, the door opened and principal Janson entered the room. He started walking through the room, hands behind his back.

"So here are the responsible ones of the food fight at the cafeteria, huh?" he stopped right in front of Thomas, the brunet glaring at him, "You, ha. I'm not surprised at all." Thomas tried so hard not to roll his eyes. Janson took another step, "Well, well, well, if it isn't our friend from across the pond." Newt looks up at him, "I told you not to mingle with Hale, kid. He's bad news." he moves to Minho, "But of course. If Batman is over there, of course here has to be his Robin." he sighs, taking the next step towards Teresa, "Miss Agnes? I didn't expect this coming from you. I think those two are bad influences," he said nodding over Thomas and Minho, "Poor girl."

Miss Paige looks at her and her eyes soften.

He moves next to Alby and Gally, "Two new students? Bet you dragged them into this too, Mr. Hale?" he asks not even looking at Thomas, who was gritting his teeth. Janson clears his throat, "I'll just say this once, since you are new and I have no control over how Mr. Hale controls his stupidity. This is just a warning. Next time I'll call your parents or guardian, am I clear?" the other two boys nodded, "Good. Glad we understand that." he goes to stand in front of his desk, facing them,

"All of you wait outside." the gang stood up and did so, closing the door behind them. Janson sat on his chair, "Call their parents. Except the ones of the new ones."

"Mister Lee and Miss Agnes' parents aren't at Beacon Hills. They live on their owns right now."

"And what about the British boy and Hale?" she nods, "Then, what are you waiting for?"

She went to the next room where the secretary was. She explained the situation; the secretary looked over the computer at the records and found Newt's. Paige pointed at the screen over Newt's photo, "We'd better call his parents first."

At the Reed's house the phone began ringing at the empty house, sounding through the walls. Allison went running out of the shower, a towel around her body and another wrapped around her hair, and she went towards the phone.

"Just a minute! Don't hang up! Don't hang up!" she manages to pick it up but the only thing she hears is the dial tone. She groans, putting the phone back at the base. Then she looks bck at the trail of water she left.

The secretary turned to look at Miss Paige, "No answer at home."

"We'll try later. Call Mr. Hale's father."

At the Hale house, the phone began ringing too. Stiles came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around his hips being held by his hand as he ran towards the phone.

"Just a minute! Don't hang up!" he picks up the phone in time, "Hello? You'll have to speak up, I'm wearing a towel."

 

* * *

 

Outside of the principal's office, the gang were waiting, sitting on the chairs outside. Some of them were taking off the pieces of food. Gally was the first to talk,

"Can you believe it? We weren't the ones starting the food fight and still they took us at the principal's office."

"Welcome to Beacon Hills Highschool." said Minho.

Alby turned to them, "Is that guy Garrett always like this?"

Thomas shook his head, scratching his nose, "No, usually he's not as nice as today." he said with a smile.

 _"Wow."_ they heard and turned around, to the other side of the hall. Aris was walking towards them with Sonya and the tall blonde guy named Ben, each of them holding two backpacks besides their owns.

Sonya gave Minho and Thomas their backpacks, who thanked her, "You guys alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," "Kind of," "I'm hungry," was the responses.

Aris gave Teresa and Newt theirs, "It was a pretty good fight, huh?"

Teresa snorts, "You have no idea. How come you're clean?"

"'Cus I'm smart. The moment the first meal touched the floor I was out of there. Sonya was at the bathroom, remember?"

"And I was taking something out of my locker," said Ben as he gave Alby and Gally their backpacks.

They all stayed in silence, looking at the nothing; Teresa sighs, "And what now?"

"Now we wait."

Since there were just three seats outside the office, Newt, Teresa and Minho were the ones sat down. Sonya was kneeled beside her boyfriend, wiping his face with a napkin. Aris sat on the right side of Teresa's front. Alby and Gally were standing near Sonya; Ben stood beside Alby, smiling and talking to him as the dirty blonde shook his head.

Thomas was sat beside Newt, arms over his knees that were brought up. Newt had his body turned towards Thomas, his back at the rest. The two of them were talking about what had happened,

"What'd you think our parents will do?" asked the blonde.

"Don't know. Have you ever had troubles?"

"Not like this."

"Well, I'm sorry about that. It was my fault."

"I disagree, it wasn't your fault. Garrett's a dick."

"I agree." they laughed.

While they talked, Teresa had finished wiping her neck and most of her clothes, and her hair was descent. Aris looks around and he eyes at where Gally was, the dirty blonde shaking his head to make the powder fall. Something small, green and circular falls from his head and he looks at it; an olive. The light brunet giggles and that catches Gally's attention. He quickly turns his head away and looks anywhere. His eyes fall on Teresa,

He hums and leans over, "You've got yourself a little something there." and points to Teresa's neck. To something red and brown.

"Just leave it. It fuels my hate fire towards Garrett." Aris smiles and lets out a chuckle.

Back to Thomas and Newt, the brunet was looking at his body and so was the blonde. They were looking at the damages on their clothes,

"Ok, this is, uh, powder." said Thomas pointing at the stains on his jeans.

"How-

"I don't know." they chuckle. He took a piece of jell-o from Newt's shoulder and ate it, "This is grape."

"Don't eat it." reproached the blonde. Newt then touched his cheek for third time and looked at his palm, "There's something on my cheek and I think it already dried."

Thomas caresses his cheek with a finger and takes something brown on his finger; he sniffs it, "I think this is chocolate." to be sure he licks his finger, "Yep, pudding."

Newt shoves him, "Gross! Tommy, I'm not an ambulant desserts cart!"

"What? You don't like chocolate pudding?"

"Not when it was on someone else's face!"

"It was different, it was on your face." the blonde frowned confused, "It only makes it more sweet."

Newt rolls his eyes, "Goof." but he smiles either ways, "What's this red thing?" he asks touching Thomas' shirt.

"I don't know, but you have it too." he said pointing at Newt's arm, then touching it. Slimy.

"Please don't eat it."

"I wasn't going to!"

"Aha,"

"It's the truth!"

"You still have it on your hand, Tommy!"

Thomas wipes it on his jeans as the blonde chuckles. He laughs too until he feels a hand on his cheek, making him turn to Newt. He had a hand over his cheek and was smiling softly at him. Thomas stares into his eyes and feels the strong urge to leans and kiss those lips but can't do it. Reason number one, Newt might not like it. Reason number two, he's not going to kiss him in front of their friends, especially the new ones and definitely not outside Janson's office. So they just stare into each other's eyes until two voices knock them out of the trance,

_"Thomas Alexander Hale!"_

_"Newton Reed!"_

The recently named guys eyes widen and they -together with the rest of the gang- turned their heads to the other side and saw Stiles and Allison walking towards them. _Crap._ They stand up quickly, eyes on their parents,

"I'm so dead."

" _I'm_ so dead."

"Can we all agree you're both super dead?" said Minho beside them.

Before the brunet could retort, the two adults approached their sons, their faces not so happy,

"Pops-

"Mom-

In that moment, Mrs. Paige came out and smiled at them. As they welcomed each other and talked near the door of the office, taking a chance that his pops was distracted, Thomas turned to his best friend,

"Minho, a little help here!"

The Asian was trying not to laugh, a hand over his mouth, " _Pfft_ , 'Alexander'. I forgot-" he shuts his eyes close and laughs harder over his hand.

Thomas glares at him, "Hell is filled with people like you."

Mrs. Paige finishes talking and after saying their goodbyes to her, Allison takes Newt and Stiles takes Thomas, and they go back to their cars. As the gang sees them leave, Gally turns to Minho,

"Are they gonna be okay?"

The Asian snorts, "What are you talking about? He's Thomas. He's had them worst."

"And what about Newt?" asked Alby.

"He's like Julie Andrews at 'The Sound of Music', he'll be fine too."

 

* * *

 

The ride back to the house was peaceful. Stiles was driving quietly while Thomas looked through the window. He was tapping the window when something came to his mind as a thunder. His eyes widen and he turned to look at his pops,

"Pops, I know you might be upset with me. I know, really. And if you aren't, you should be. I'm a dishonor of son, but you have to listen to me! You have to call Aunt Allison and tell her it wasn't Newt's fault!" Stiles eyes him, " _I swear!_ We were at the cafeteria chatting and then Garrett appeared and I accidentally crashed against him and he started being a dickhead-

"Language."

"And-and before we knew it, there was a freaking Civil War going in the cafeteria! We didn't started! You have to believe me!"

"I do." said Stiles calmly.

"And I-- you do?" asked Thomas looking at his pops.

"Yes."

"B-But how-

"Miss Paige called me and told me personally what happened. She says she knows it wasn't your fault and that you didn't started it, but the principal doesn't think the same."

"Because he's insane!"

"Anyways, she explained everything. You can relax, you're safe. For now." out of the corner of his eye he saw Thomas relax in the seat. Stiles smiled for a moment before his eyes caught something, "What's that slimy red thing-

"I don't know!"

 

* * *

 

At the same time but in another car,

"So?"

Allison and Newt were over the car, the brunet woman driving back to their house. She talked while looking at the road, her eyes never moving away. Newt was sitting with his legs up to his chest and was biting his fingernails softly.

The blonde turned his head to look at his mom, " _'So?'_ "

"Aren't you gonna beg me not to ground you? Beg me to let you explain how it really happened?"

"Mom, I think if they called you from the vice-principal's office, anything I tell you will be nonsense to your ears." he looks at her, "Wait, why haven't you told me anything?"

"Because the vice-principal talked to me and assured me it wasn't you or any of the others."

Newt let out a relieved sigh, but frowns immediately, "Do you think she said the same thing to Thomas' dad?"

"I don't know, maybe. Why?"

"Can you please call him and explain that to him? So he doesn't ground him." Allison eyes him, "I mean, it would be wrong if he gets punished by something he didn't do, right?"

"I think you're right. When we arrive home I'll call Stiles. Don't worry about your friend,"

And as she said, arriving to their house she called Stiles. She was surprised at hearing he was going to call her too and say the exact same thing she was going to. They laughed at how cute they thought it was their sons trying to protect the other.

At the evening, Newt was doing the essay he had even though it was for Friday. He was over his room, lying over his stomach as he wrote down on a paper sheet, his laptop on for if he needed to investigate something. Letting go of his pen, he laid on his back, looking at the ceiling instead. He thought about yesterday, when Alby and Gally stayed at his house. All night he thought about what they had talk with him. About school and classes. About his family. About _Thomas_.

Newt covered his eyes with one arm. They had asked him if he and Tommy were an item. He told them they weren't. Then they asked if he wanted them to be. God, he blushed and stuttered. Alby told him it was okay if he felt that way, and that they would support him. Gally said Thomas seemed nice. Then they said that if he really liked Thomas he needed to make a choice. Thomas wasn't gonna wait for him forever, right? Or maybe he would. Bloody hell, love was a complicated thing.

 

* * *

 

Getting out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist, Thomas grabbed his phone as it rang. It was a message from Minho.

**_'You missed the movie, dude! It was awesome!' -Min._ **

He chuckled and typed,

**_'Maybe another time. Did you guys do something else?'_ **

And put his phone down as he went to his dresser chest and took out some boxers. His reply came as he finished putting on the boxers,

**_'Not without you, bro. Tomorrow we'll go to the pizza parlor again. Wanna come?' -Min._ **

**_'Damn right I want to! But we have work, Min.'_ **

**_'Oh, shit. Forgot about it :p hehe' -Min._ **

Thomas rolled his eyes and threw the towel at his desk chair before lying on his bed,

**_'I'm gonna go and grab something to dine. See ya tomorrow, shank.' -Min._ **

**_'See ya,'_ **

 

* * *

 

The next day Thomas and Newt were over the brunet's locker, talking about yesterday when something caught Newt's eyes. Thomas turned around and saw walking beside them a tall guy with black hair and pretty beaten. One of their classmates... His name was Stan. Damn, he had a nasty fight. Thomas wondered what happened.

It seemed like Newt wondered the same, "What happened to him?"

 _"Guys! Guys!"_ they heard a voice coming from behind and turned around, looking at Minho and Teresa running towards them.

"Hey, what's going on-

"You saw Stan a moment ago?" asks Minho as they catch with them.

"Yes, he seemed like a big pomegranate, why? You know what happened to him?" Minho and Teresa nod. The Asian tilts his head at the girl and the brunet frowns.

Thomas then understands, "What?!"

"You had to be there!"

**_*Flashback*_ **

Minho was driving towards school when suddenly his car started malfunctioning. He quickly managed to park on a side and got out of the car, inspecting his vehicle. He gently kicked its side and groaned,

"The hell..." he then hears another car engine and turns around, watching as Stan climbs out of his car and walks towards him, "Hey, Stan." he turns to look at his car again, "Can you believe that my car stopped out of nowhere in my way to school-

He stops talking when he finds himself on the ground, having been kicked by Stan. Looking at his side he frowns,

"What the hell man?!" but the other guy kicked again, the Asian still on the ground.

"Who'd you think you are? You can't be fucking around with other dudes girlfriends!"

"What are you talking about?"

He kicks him again, ignoring Minho, "Especially _my_ girlfriend!"

The Asian looks at him, "What?!" and covers his head again. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Teresa running towards them with aluminum bat. As Stan continues kicking him, Teresa hits him with the bat, knocking him out to the ground.

She hovers over him and hits him again, saying "Take that! And that! And that! And that!" each time she hits him; he tries to get up and trips.

Minho coughed as he saw them just a few feet beside him, "You got him! You got him!"

She turns to him, looking worried, "Are you okay?" she puts a strand of hair behind her ear.

Minho looks at the guy running and stands up, "Yes, yes-

"Okay, I'll be back." she turns around and chases Stan, " _Hey!_ Come here!"

"No, no! I think he's had enough!" Minho brushes away the leafs on his jeans. He looks at Teresa and the other guy from far as she hits him with the bat again, until he falls on the ground, "You got him!"

She turns to him, _"Not good enough!"_ and continues hitting the guy.

Minho chuckles and shakes his head, 'That boor bastard' he thinks while looking around to see if there wasn't anyone there, "He learned his lesson!" after a few seconds later, Teresa comes back as the other guy runs away.

She takes a deep breath and grabs the bat with one hand, "Hey, sorry. I was at a community-watch program back at England and-

 _"Oh, you crazy bitch!"_ they hear the guy running as far as he could.

"Yeah, _keep running!_ " she yells the last part at the top of her lungs and then looks back at Minho, smiling normally. Minho chuckles at that.

**_*Flashback ends*_ **

"Oh my God, Teresa!" cracks Thomas, covering his mouth so his laughter wouldn't attract too much attention. Newt himself was grabbing his stomach and laughing, some tears forming on the corner of his eyes while Minho applauded at Teresa, who rolled her eyes and bow a few times.

"And why did he attack you?"

Minho shrugs, "I don't know, man. But I'll see him later after school and talk about it."

"Bring Teresa." said Thomas as the dark haired girl hit him with her bag, making him laugh. Eyeing the bell, he knew it would soon ring, "Okay." he turns to the gang, "You two have Art class, right? Minho and I have foreign language. We'll see you at lunch, okay?"

Both Teresa and Newt nodded.

Teresa nods at the blonde's direction without him noticing. Thomas notices it and nods, clearing his throat; this time he talks to Newt, "I'll walk you. Go ahead, just let me grab my books." he said while taking out his books. Newt nodded and began walking slowly towards the classroom. Thomas looks at the blonde walking away in slow motion. He doesn't notice he's smiling until he hears Minho humming 'God Save the Queen' and he shoves him with a chuckle. He closes his locker and goes follow Newt, walking beside him and talking to him.

Both Teresa and Minho stay at the lockers, looking at those two talking while walking together and start humming the 'Wedding March' and then erupt in laughter, shaking their heads while running through the hall and to their class.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, live is better is you leave kudos and reviews ;)


	16. Don't Worry, Be Happy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! The next chapter! And it's finally October! Although in the story it's still late August. But the next chapter will be the last of August and on chapter 18 we enter September~  
> I'll stop babbling, and let you enjoy.

At school, Thomas, Newt, Minho and Sonya were on the halls, walking towards their next class. Minho was currently telling them what had happened with the guy who attacked him,

"So, it seems Garrett told him I was having sex with his girlfriend and he believed it. That's why he went into Hulk mode."

"Sick bastard." breathes out Thomas.

"Yeah. He asked his girlfriend about it and she said it was a lie. She threatened to break up with him because he wouldn't trust her. He came after PE class and said he was sorry."

"He should be. If Teresa hadn't arrived, you would be like him." says Sonya. Her eyes widen for a moment and she stops, taking something out of her satchel. A book, "I gotta give this to Harriet! I must run!" she sends a kiss to Minho, "See you next class!"

The Asian waves at her as she disappears into the corner. They continued walking until Thomas and Newt had to enter their class. Minho continued his path when he found Gally and Alby taking their stuff out of their lockers.

Minho runs towards them, "Hey! I was just looking for you,"

Alby looked around, "Me?" Minho nodded, "Okay." he closed his locker and the three of them started walking back, "What about?"

Minho scratched the back of his head, "So, I don't know how to do this but... a friend from track and field said he..." he took a deep breath, "He thought you were hot."

Gally snorted behind him and Alby punched him in the shoulder, "Really? And who is he?"

"He said that if you really wanted to know, you should go to the tryouts. Also for the American football tryouts." he stopped in front of a classroom, waiting for the dark skinned guy's answer.

Alby seemed to be thinking about it. To Minho he didn't seemed like someone who dislike a relationship between two guys. Not that he was saying he was gay or something, but he didn't react in a bad way at knowing another guy found him hot. Also, he wasn't blind and he noticed the way the dark skinned guy looked over at Ben.

Knocking him out of his thoughts, Alby nodded,

"Maybe I will." he answered.

Clapping, the Asian says "My work here is done. Now, if you may please," and with that he turned around and entered his Econ class waving at them as they continued their path. Inside the classroom he found Teresa already there, sitting next window, looking at a few notes on her desk. He smiled and approached her.

"Hey, you." he called.

She looked up and smiled, "Hey yourself." Minho sat beside her, putting his backpack on the floor, "Did you finished this? I couldn't find the answer to number 12."

Minho's eyes widen in horror, "There was homework?!"

"Yes, there was."

_"Shuck!"_ he practically jumped to grab his bag, "Please help me. Let me copy it!" and take out his notes. Teresa rolled her eyes and gave him the notes. "Thank you! Thank you! I love you!"

At that carefree comment, she felt her cheeks heat. Shaking her head slightly -so Minho wouldn't notice- she looked around the room to check if the teacher didn't arrived. Instead, out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a slim brunet girl (she was a cheerleader, she knew that) staring at her. But her stare had a... judgmental tone. Teresa turned to look at other thing that wasn't her. Her heart was beating fast. _'Had she heard what Minho said? Well, he practically yelled, so... If she's a cheerleader she must be Sonya's friend. What if she tells her?'_ she frowns, _'But what can she tell her? That I was helping my friend and her boyfriend with a homework? Come on, Teresa. You're making a drama out of nothing. Just... chill out.'_

Fortunately, Minho managed to end his homework before the teacher arrived.

 

* * *

 

The bell rang and everyone got out of their final class. Teresa said she wanted to go over Aris' house and say hi to his parents, so she was leaving now with the lighter brunet. Gally and Alby had promised to help Gally's uncle with something over his house, so they couldn't stay at the tryouts, but would try it tomorrow. Sonya had to go with her grandmother's house, so she practically flew out of the school. The only ones still standing were Thomas, Newt and Minho.

Thomas and Newt were at the brunet's locker, with Thomas taking out his spare clothes for training and putting his books inside the locker. Newt had a brush on his hand, while the rest of his Art stuff was inside his satchel.

"So, what are you gonna paint?" asked Thomas.

"Not telling."

"You don't have any idea, do you?"

"Of course I have."

"Then, Michelangelo, tell me."

"No. It's a secret."

"Are you painting a 'Birth of Venus' like paint or something like that?"

Newt hit him with the brush, "No! But I want it to be a secret until I finish it."

Thomas whined, "But that's gonna take time! I wanna know now!"

"Don't be such a kid, Tommy. You'll have to be patient," and with that Newt turned around and started walking away.

Thomas grinned and yelled, "Okay, see you after your class finishes!" turning his head slightly without stop walking, Newt smiled.  Thomas stayed there, closing his locker while chuckling and no more than six seconds later he heard a familiar voice,

_"No, no, no, no-_

He saw Minho running towards him like a mad man and he frowned.

"No, no, no, no! No, no, no!" the Asian practically crashed on his locker and opened it afterwards.

"What happened?"

"I forgot an important essay over my place! Shuck!" he closes the locker, "The teacher wants it before he leaves! That's in 30 minutes, Thomas!"

"What are you gonna do? Give it tomorrow?"

"No, I can't. It has to be today, today's the last day. I already told him I was going for it, so..." he took out his car keys, "I'll go for it quickly. Tell Coach that I might be a little late at practice, okay?"

"Yeah," they bump fists, "Drive carefully."

And as Minho ran he yelled _"I will!"_

 

* * *

 

After extracurricular activities ended, over the field every guy went to the locker room to shower and change their sweaty clothes. Thomas decided to go home and take a long warm shower there instead of a quick one here, so he kept his clothes on. Minho hadn't arrived. _'Maybe he decided not to come for training, that lazy bastard. Or maybe he went with Sonya to her grandmother's house, that horny bastard.'_ Either way he didn't give it too much priority.

Exiting the room, Thomas started walking through the hallway, over where Art class was. He saw several students exit and then he saw Newt, holding a big square thing behind a blanket under his armpit. _Must be a canvas_ , he thought. Clearing his throat he yelled,

_"Yo, Michelangelo!"_

The blonde turned around at the yell and smiled at seeing it was the brunet. He stopped so Thomas could catch up with him,

"Hey, Tommy. Worked hard?" he said looking at his sweaty shirt.

"You bet. What about you?" he puts a towel over his shoulder and they start walking.

"Started doing this paint at Art class, but I wanted to take it home so nobody ruins it." he said as he moved the canvas under his armpit.

Thomas points at it, "Is that it?" the blonde nods, "Can I see?"

_Here we go again,_ thought the blonde, "It's not finished."

"So?"

" _'So?'_ You can't see it yet, Tommy."

"Why not? Will it lose its color if I do?"

Newt rolled his eyes, "It's not finished and you can't see it. I promise once I finish it, you'll be able to look at it."

"Promised?"

"Promised."

As they walk through the hallways, Thomas' phone rings; he takes it out and looks at the screen to an unknown number. He answers anyway,

"Hello?"

_"Did I reach Thomas Hale's phone?"_ he heard a woman in the other side speaking.

"Yes, he speaks."

The woman started talking again, saying something about a hospital. Wait _, what? A hospital?_ _"We are calling on behalf of mister Minho Lee, who was in a car accident and your name was listed as his emergency contact,"_ of course, his parents weren't in Beacon Hills, _"Sir?"_ his phone trembled in his hand. He couldn't speak, he couldn't move, he couldn't think. Slowly, as he heard the woman giving him the address, he ended the call.

He started hearing a faint sound, he couldn't describe it but it was annoying.

"Who was that?" he heard Newt ask.

He clenched his phone, "Minho, he—he was in a car accident." he looked at the way Newt's face morphed into a shocked one, eyebrows disappearing into his soft blonde hair.

And that sound continued.

What's that sound? It sounded like a hammer knocking against an anvil, each time hitting harder; like the metronome over the music room, each time getting higher. Then something was clenched inside his chest. Oh.

It was his heart. His heart was pounding, so hard, so loud he's impressed Newt hasn't heard it. His head starts spinning around, so he has to take his eyes off of the boy.

Newt continues talking, "Everything's going to be alright, you'll see." he frowns when seeing the brunet looking around, _"Tommy?"_

But Thomas can't seem to focus the blonde's face anymore, and even hears his voice echoing,

_"Are you okay? What is it? What's wrong? Thomas?"_

He feels a pair of hands grabbing his arms and he breathes out "I think I'm having a panic attack."

 

* * *

 

A classroom's door swings open, and Thomas and Newt enter the empty room a little bit too hurried. Thomas continues to struggle for air, his head spinning around too much fast he thinks he's going to throw up. Just like his pops, he has had panic attacks. But his pops' were more frequent than his. In all his life, Thomas had only experienced two panic attacks. But none of them felt like the one he was having in this moment. Newt was walking behind him, his hand barely touching his shoulders before the brunet grabs onto the nearest table for support,

_"Okay. Come on. Come on."_ he hears Newt's voice.

Thomas continues gasping, becoming more agitated each second; when his body decided it's too tired, he falls over the floor, turning so his back is touching the desk, the blonde kneeled in front of him with a worried expression and his still covered paint lying on the floor, and the only thing the Thomas can do is continue gasping.

He heard Newt's voice in between gasps, "Just try and think about something else, anything else." he sounded agitated too. Poor Newt.

"Like what?" he choked out. God, it hurt.

"Uh, happy things. Good things. Uh, family, friends," he hears Thomas suck in air, his eyes widening while looking back at him, "Eh, I mean... not friends."

_"Oh, God."_

The blonde closes his eyes, letting out a rather sexy groan, "Okay, uh, just... Try and slow your breathing." he barely sees Newt's hands moving back and forward, again and again as he breathes together with the blonde.

The brunet has his shaking hands touching the floor, trying to concentrate in them but failing. He just sees them blurry, "I can't. I can't." he chokes out; it hurt so much. He feels like his chest is going to burst into flames. His breathing changed; he's hyperventilating now.

He feels a pair of hands grabbing his face, desperate movements into making him look at the blonde in front of him. Their faces are too close that all he can see is brown. Those beautiful brown eyes looking right at him with such a pained expression; they shouldn't look like that. They had to be full of live, full of good emotions, not this. Newt had his eyebrows furrowed, his breath touching the brunet's face, " _Shh, shh_. _Tommy, look at me."_ he's pleading, " _Shh_ , _look at me. Shh, Tommy_."

And then Newt is leaning forward, joining their mouths together in a rather passionate kiss. The only thing Thomas can do is open his eyes, stare into the blonde's closed eyes as he's still cupping Thomas' face. The brunet taken back for a moment, starts giving into the kiss, closing his eyes as those soft lips continue to touch his. He feels the desperate fingers of Newt clutching at his face, falling slowly from his cheeks and to his jaw. Their noses are touching each other. He noticed then: His heart. It was still beating fast but not because of the panic attack, but because of something else. His chest didn't hurt anymore; his breathing evenly. His head wasn't dizzy anymore and his hands stopped trembling too.

Newt separates their lips in an almost torturing, slow way that when Thomas opens his own eyes to look at him, he finds the blonde with his eyes still closed, fingers withdrawing until his hands are together beneath his chin, and mouth slight open with his lips pouting. Newt opens his eyes slowly, almost as if he couldn't make them open to look at the person mere inches away from his face with a soft frown forming over his face.

Thomas let out a sigh he didn't knew he was holding in, "How'd you do that?"

The British boy licks his lips, taking a moment before he speaks, "I, uh... I read once that... Holding your breath could stop a panic attack." Thomas feels himself nodding at him, "So, when I kissed you..." he bites his lips, something that doesn't go unnoticed by the brunet, "You held your breath."

"I did?"

Newt nods softly, eyes still glued at him, "Yeah, you did."

Thomas takes a moment to appreciate the way Newt's eyes sparkled as he stare at him, his face still showing a little worry but now mingled with relief. He felt better, he probably looked better now. All thanks to this angel in front of him. He gives him a small smile, "Thanks. That was really smart." the way the blonde let out a soft chuckle was one of the things Thomas will always treasure.

After the whole odyssey, they managed to contact Teresa and the rest of the gang, letting them know they were gonna go to the hospital. Thomas felt a knot on his stomach but Newt's warm and comforting hand on his kept him distracted from it.

 

* * *

 

His right arm lay bandaged, his left leg was lifted by two soft pillows and he had a neck brace. A butterfly stitch was over his temple where he had hit onto the steering wheel.  They told them he had a small metal fragment over his arm, but they decided to keep it there for now as it could be more harmful to take it out now.

Alby, Gally, Aris, Teresa, Thomas and Newt were outside of the room, waiting as the nurse came out to tell them just one by one could enter, not all at the same time. They decided to let Thomas in first as he was the Asian's best friend and emergency contact.

Once inside the room, Thomas approaches the bed and stands beside it, looking at the figure of his best friend in bed. He slowly puts his hand over Minho's, and the Asian's eyes slightly open to look at him;

"Hey, how you feeling?"

Minho gives his a crooked smile, "Never better." it sounds almost like a whisper.

"Great, but your car isn't that great."

_"Ugh,"_

Thomas smiles and lets out a sigh, looking at his leg. He looks back at the dark haired boy's face, "Look at the bright side, you'll never walk through a metal detector again without setting it off."

Minho closes his eyes, "Oh great, hand searches? _My favorites_." they both chuckle at that, the Asian coughing a little because of the brace, "Who else is here?"

"Everyone. They are outside; a nurse didn't let us be here. Sonya is on her way, you know, as she was with her grandmother. We came as fast as we knew." a smile appeared on his face at the thought of Newt's soft lips over his. Obviously that didn't went unnoticed by his best friend. Thomas saw he was narrowing his eyes at him.

"Something happen. I can see it in your eyes. Spit."

Thomas chuckles and takes a deep breath, "Well, when I was still at school with Newt I got the call from the hospital. When they told me you were in a car accident and that you were in a hospital I, uh, had a panic attack."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, Newt, he-" Thomas scratches his neck, "he managed to calm me down by kissing me. He-he kissed me."

"You lucky rat bastard. You two were making out while I was in my deathbed?" he then grins, "Want me to fake a heart attack so you two can dry hump in an empty room?"

"Very funny, you dumb shank. I wonder which one is the plug that keeps you alive." said Thomas as he eyes the contacts on the wall. Minho laughs but then a small frown formed in his face; Thomas noticed it, "What's wrong?"

He started speaking in a soft voice, "When I was in the ambulance, I could hear the song 'Heroes' playing in my head. I kept flashing in and out of consciousness, everything was really bright and I remember thinking, _'Wait, is David Bowie really God?'_ "

Thomas snorts, feeling a knot on his throat at the picture of his best friend in an ambulance. He puts a hand on Minho's shoulder and squeezes, careful not to hurt his friend, "I was really worried, you shank." he says in a serious tone.

Minho stops laughing and looks at him. He grimaces at the brunet and nods. Thomas nods too and removes his hand from his shoulder.

"God, I'm thirsty." moaned the Asian, breaking the tender moment.

"I'll bring you something, okay?"

"My hero."

With a roll of his eyes, Thomas turned around and went to the door. As he exits and goes to the waiting lounge, Teresa stands up,

"How's he doing?"

"Unfortunately, he's still Minho."

She looks back at where the brunet came from, "That's terrible."

Thomas snorts, "He's fine. He's thirsty." and with that he went in search of a vending machine. As he found one on the other side of the floor, he started looking for something his friend would like. Something Minho would like. Minho. He frowned and put a hand over the machine, leaning froward as he closed his eyes. God, what would had happened if—

_'No.'_ he shakes his head, _'Don't think in the if, Thomas. He's here, he's fine and that's everything you need to know.'_ Immersed in his thoughts, he barely noticed the presence of another person behind him.

_"What are you gonna have?"_

He jumped. He actually jumped at hearing Newt's voice. Nice, Thomas.

The blonde stood beside him, "Sorry,"

"No, I'm... I was distracted." he looks back at the machine, staring at it, not even looking at the beverages. His heart still beat fast.

"You fine?"

Thomas nods, "Yeah, I just... don't know if I should call his parents, you know? To inform them. But I don't know that's a good idea. I mean, nothing fatal happened."

"What do you think they would do if you call?"

"His mom might take a plane to Beacon Hills as she hangs up the phone. His dad might ask me to take care of him while he recovers and keep him in touch if something else happens. He's like his father in looks and the way of thinking, but in personality he's definitely like his mother." he finishes with a chuckle.

"Why you say that?"

"Have you not seen his mother?" Newt sends him a look, "Oh, right. You haven't. Well, you'll get the chance. They might come in late September."

"Why's that?"

Thomas turned so his back was leaned over the machine, "That's what they do. They come here to check on Minho and spend time with him on September just a few weeks, on December vacations and summer vacations. They couldn't come this summer vacations, but they never miss Christmas and New Year."

"That seems nice." says Newt smiling. He then looks back at the brunet, seeing him looking at the wall in front of him, "Are you sure you're okay, Tommy?" he asked with worry.

"Huh?" Thomas turned to look at him, "Yeah, I'm fine." he turned to the vending machine and pushed a button, "If Minho asks, there was only this juice in the whole floor, okay?" Newt laughs.

Over the Asian's room, Sonya was standing beside the bed, grabbing Minho's hand. He was telling her what happened in his accident.

"It happened so fast I couldn't even- I didn't saw the other car."

Sonya nods, "But why in the first place were you there? Didn't you had practice or something?"

"Yeah, but I had to go back to my place for an essay I forgot and I-" his eyes widen, "Oh, no! My essay!" he groaned, trying to move his body.

"Don't worry, we'll tell your teacher you were in an accident and he'll understand."

Minho smiles, "Thanks,"

"But right now you need to rest, okay? So you get better and don't miss school,"

In that moment Thomas enters the room, holding a juice bottle on his hand, "Oh, he's flat-lining. Call it. Time?"he glances at the clock on the wall.

"No, no, no, I'm gonna live forever." Minho chuckles, "I'm gonna be made of plastic."

Thomas hands him his drink, "Here," the Asian grabs it and takes a sip. Thomas looks around the room and then at the door. He scratches the back of his head and says, "So, I was wondering if I should call your parents and tell them you had an accident, _BUT_ that you're okay."

"Thomas, you really want my mom's voice to get to that pitch that disturbs a cat?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So? You liked it? What about the little drama about the car accident? What about the kiss scene? Did someone (who watches TW) recognized it? And what about Teresa, huh? And what might Newt be painting?
> 
> I think the next chapter I'll upload it on Tuesday (to end August once for all) and the next one on Friday, so it will be a busy week :p


	17. Happy Birthday, Tommy (Love Is in the Air)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this chapter we end August and enter September. I gotta keep up with October!

A week had passed since Minho's accident and he was much better. His arm was what hurt the most, as his leg was no longer in bandages and his neck was with no brace. Everyone had helped with whatever thing they could do, even in the most insignificant little thing. Thomas had practically spent the whole week over Minho's apartment and he really missed his bed. But now that the Asian boy was better, he could do more things on his own.

Thomas and Newt hadn't talk about the kiss. Thomas didn't brought it up and the blonde didn't seemed to mind. It still bothered Thomas even thought he knew it hadn't been a lovefull kiss but one to calm his panic attack. Sure, if Minho or Teresa would have been with him, he was sure they wouldn't have kissed him. So why did Newt did it? And then he had acted like it was nothing. Maybe it was nothing. _'Shut up, Thomas. You know it meant something.'_

Right now, it was Sunday and he was walking through the building's corridors to get to Teresa's apartment. He had a hot drink on his left hand and dry cleaner plastic garment bags on the right one. Also there was a bag crossed over his torso. He knocked on the door and waited. He waited for almost a minute until the door open, revealing the raven girl. Her hair in a bun, some strands falling over her sides. She had a big, soft, baggy gray sweater and black leggings.

"Hey, nice clothes."

"I didn't had clean clothes." she answers with a shrug, "What's up?"

"Well, I brought you your History notes," he said as he took out from the bag, "Thank you again, by the way. Uh, a chai tea, as I was making my way down a coffee shop," he gives her the drink.

"Nice." she smells it and smiles.

"And your clean clothes from the dry cleaner." finally, he gives her the plastic bags.

She takes them, "Thanks. That's really nice from you." she eyes him suspiciously, "Okay, where's the catch. Is there something wrong?"

He shrugs, "Nothing in particular, just making sure of something."

"Of what?" the brunet didn't answered her but she understood. Putting a hand on her hip and looking at him she said "Tom, I _am_ going to pick you up from your house and go to school. And then back."

"I know, I know. Just checking."

"Aha," she chuckles, "Now get out of here before I throw you my tea, Tom."

"Okay, okay." he turns around and starts walking away when suddenly he turns around, "Tomorrow, 6:40?"

_"Tom!"_

"I'm leaving!" and he left.

 

* * *

 

The next day at the morning, Thomas woke up. His eyes opened and then closed. He wanted to stay in bed. Like always. But something inside him told him to wake up. He looked at his alarm clock and at the date. August 26. He blinked several times. Oh, right; today was his birthday!

He stood up and stretched over his bed, scratching his bed hair. After going to the bathroom, he went downstairs still in his pajamas. There he found his dads making breakfast. He went to sit on the counter, moving aside a chair. At hearing him they turned around and stared at him, smiling. Thomas stood where he was, hand on the chair and still standing.

"I saw this exact same frame on a horror movie before one guy got killed."

Stiles smiled, "Oh, you don't have to worry,"

"That's what they told him before he got kill." he said as he sat.

Derek rolled his eyes. He went to the fridge to grab some juice as Stiles putted a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon and waffles in front of Thomas, who began eating in that instant. The older dark haired man poured some juice to Thomas. Thomas nodded at him, saying 'thank you' and continued eating. As Derek went back to the fridge, Stiles approached his son, staring at him.

The younger brunet looked up, "What?"

"Nothing, nothing."

Thomas nodded but as he went back to his plate, his pops arms were around him, hugging him hard.

_"My little boy is now a full grown up!"_

"Stiles..."

He looked at his husband, "What? I'm not allowed to be emotional that my only son is turning 18?! How do you think my father acted, huh?" he huffs, letting go of Thomas, "Besides, you aren't doing anything so I have to do this for both!" Both Derek and Thomas raised an eyebrow, looking at the older brunet. Stiles stared at them and groaned exasperated, turning around and going to the stairs, _"Stupid Hale gene and their stupid expressions; they're all the same!"_

As he leaved the kitchen, Derek turned to the brunet, "I think what your pops wanted to say was... Happy Birthday, Thomas."

Thomas smiles, "Thanks, dad." he nods at Stiles' direction, "Maybe you should check on him."

"He's fine."

"He started swearing in Polish." and with that Derek ran towards his husband, making Thomas chuckle. He continued with his relatively normal breakfast.

 

* * *

 

Half hour later, he and Teresa were at school. As they entered through the doors, Thomas was thanking the raven girl for the present she had given him when they arrived. A MP3/MP4 sport armband.

"You didn't had to. Thank you so much, T."

She shrugs, "I knew you would like it. Now when you are running whether for track and field or for fun, you'll be able to hear your favorite music."

"I was actually looking for one. How did you-

"I'm awesome." they arrive at the lockers.

"Yes you are. I'm dying to try this--

The air in his lungs was punched out as Minho slammed his body with his, hugging him from behind.

"Here he is! It's the birthday boy!" he kissed Thomas' cheek and untangled himself from the brunet, "Happy birthday, shank!"

"Thanks, I-" confetti was thrown at him from above, "What the hell, Min?!"

"This isn't a normal celebration, Tom-boy. Today you turn into a real man!"

"What was I before? Made of plastic?" more confetti, this time directly at his face. He heard Teresa chuckle beside them. Shaking it off and wiping his face, he looked at his friend, who had a silly string can and was ready to use it, "Cut it out, Min!" he tried to grab it but the Asian jumps to a side.

"Nope!" he puts some necklaces of plastic beads on Thomas, "Until the clock strikes 12 I'm gonna be like this! So..." he shrugs and starts running through the halls yelling "He's legal now, ladies! He can go to jail and can drink! He can drive even if he doesn't have a car!" while spraying the can.

Thomas looks at the beads on his neck and then back at the halls, "I'm gonna kill him."

_"LET'S MAMBO!"_ yells the Asian before grabbing a nearby teacher and dancing with her, the readhead teacher both confused and laughing.

"Forget that. He's gonna get himself in trouble,"

Teresa rolls her eyes, "I'll go for him." and runs towards the guy.

Thomas snorts looking at Teresa jumping behind Minho and onto his back, -the Asian holding her- and trying to take away the can. He just swirls them around, still yelling. Thomas turns around to his locker and starts taking out his books. Even with the yells of his best friends, he hears steps approaching him, so he turns his head and sees Newt. The blonde was a few steps away from him, looking at the confetti over the floor. He looks up and smiles,

"Hey," he then looks at the Asian and raven girl's direction, "What's with them?"

"Minho's just being a big pain in the ass since today is my birthday. He won't stop until the day ends, and Teresa is trying to avoid him getting kill by Janson."

Newt's eyes widen, "Today's your birthday?!"

"Yep," the blonde hits him on the shoulder, _"Oww!"_

"Tommy! Why didn't you told me?"

"It's not a big deal."

"Not a big deal? It's your birthday. The day you were born, of course it's a big deal." he stares at Thomas like he's disappointed, "Okay. But I'm gonna get you something."

His heart jumped. Calm down, Thomas. Act cool, "Really, Newt. It's fine,"

"No. I've already made my mind." he looked at the clock over the wall, "Gotta go. First class is Physics and the teacher is going to kill us if we're not in the classroom when the bell rings, so..." Thomas nodded, understanding he had to leave. Newt stayed a few more seconds, though. But just as he was about to leave, he leaned forward, a hand on Thomas' shoulder, and kissed Thomas' cheek.

"Happy Birthday, Tommy."

And leaved, turning over the corner to his classroom. Thomas stayed there, standing still as a goofy smile appeared on his face. Now I WANT a present from him!

Still smiling, he turned to look at the other side of the hall and saw Teresa still over Minho's back and Aris' body _-where did he came from?-_ under his armpit, his feet not touching the floor. They both where struggling to get out of his hold. His smile fell. What the hell-?

He closed his locker and started walking their way, "Minho, you're gonna get arrested!-

And he collided with a chubby guy with a curly mop of hair. He was carrying a lot of papers, that now where scattered over the floor. And he collided with a chubby guy with a curly mop of hair. He was carrying a lot of papers, that now where scattered over the floor. The guy seemed from first year, younger than him by two years.

Thomas looked at him as he shook his head, "You alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. I-I'm sorry! I didn't-

"No, no. It was my fault too, ok?" he starts helping him with the papers. He noticed they were sheet music.

"Oh, you're from the band?"

"Yeah. Name's Chuck and I'm actually the band leader, so..." they both stand up.

"I'm Thomas." Thomas gives him the sheets, "Band leader? That's pretty cool, man."

Chuck's eyes lit, "You think so? I-I mean, yeah of course it is! If you ever need a favor, you can call me!"

Thomas nodded. In that moment, the bell rang, "I need to go. Nice to meet you, Chuck!" he yelled as he ran back to his classroom.

"Nice to meet you too, Thomas!" he said as he raised his left hand... and all the sheets fell over the floor again, "Ah, _shit!_ "

Thomas ran towards Minho's direction and found him still grabbing Aris and Teresa. Rolling his eyes, he kicked the back of Minho's knee and the Asian boy collapsed on the floor, bringing together with him the other two persons. Minho managed to calm himself for the rest of the classes.

 

* * *

 

Driving back to his house was relaxing. Good thing Minho had to stay and do some essays he was supposed to do while in the hospital. He didn't want him making a show on Teresa's car. She might crash it to shush him and no thanks, he didn't wanted to die. As Teresa turns around the corner, something caught his eyes: a motorcycle ([x](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-k_wPWDwpbAo/UXec4-rvJeI/AAAAAAAABCY/1aOg-n4EG-c/s1600/Honda-NC700X-2012-widescreen-11.jpg)). A motorcycle parked right in front of his house. Teresa parks beside it, waiting for Thomas to get out.

"Cool. Who's the owner?" she asks.

Frowning, he hops out of the car, "See ya tomorrow, T." and closes the door.

"Don't make bad choices!" and with that she drove away.

Thomas eyed the motorbike; it was a nice bike. Someone had a good taste. But that someone parked it here instead on their own house.

"What the...?" he touched it and noticed it wasn't warm. Whoever left it here must arrived a few hours ago. Barely eyeing his house he yelled, "Dad? Pops?" and turned to look at the bike again. It was beautiful. God, when he was a kid he wanted one. Not that right now he wouldn't like having one. He rounded it again, trying to see if he saw something with he could identify it's owner. Nothing, "How did you get-

The sound of the door opening made him turn his head at his house and saw his dads coming out,

"I thought I heard you arrive. Told you it was Thomas." said Stiles as he slapped the tall's man shoulder, walking towards the younger brunet.

"Yeah, I was going to enter the house but some neighbor parked their motorcycle on the street, right in front of the house."

"No, they didn't." said Stiles as he held up his hand, holding a pair of keys.

Thomas frowned, "You bought yourself a motorcycle?"

Derek looks at the older brunet, "He really is your son." Stiles glares at him and then with a sigh he throws the keys to Thomas, who catches them.

He frowns, still confused until realization dawns on him. His eyes widen as he looks back at the bike and at his dads, then at the keys and his dads, "W-wait, wait, wait! Hold the fuck up!"

"Language."

"You're telling me- you, _oh my God!_ You really- for _me?_! You bought-!"

"Calm down, you're gonna have a panic attack."

"Oh, no, no, no. I can't- I can't accept _this_ -" he quickly runs to the bike, touching it almost like caressing it, "No, no. This is too much, I-" he climbs on it, hands gripping on the handlebars.

"Yeah, it's clear you don't want it." said Derek as Stiles rolled his eyes, "But we couldn't thought about a better birthday present."

Thomas hops off of the bike, "Oh, thank you, thank you!" and ran to his dads, hugging them, "Thank you! Thank you!"

"You're welcome. But life isn't all honey, you know. There are gonna be rules for you to keep it." he continued as Thomas went back to the bike, "You're going to use a helmet."

"Yeah, absolutely!"

"And if we need something from the supermarket or drug store, you're going to have to go."

"I will gladly go to the other side of the town! No matter what time, I'll do it!"

Thomas seemed like a kid on Christmas. Derek chuckled at that, "You'll have to pay for the fuel and all it's costs."

"That's why I have a job! Life now makes sense!"

"Also Scott and Lydia help paying it, so you're going to have to thank them."

"I'm on my way!" he climbs again on the bike and looks around for something missing. He looks at his parents and before he can say anything, Derek points at the compartment storage. He opens it and finds a helmet. Dear God. How much he loves his dads.

Putting the helmet on and starting the bike -that was his second favorite sound in the world; the first being Newt's laugh- he started driving it, giving a turn and then pressing the accelerator.

"Thank you, thank you! You're the best parents EVER!" was heard as he drove down the street.

Derek and Stiles stood there, looking at the direction their son had leaved.

"We are kind of awesome, aren't we?"

Derek snorts, "Totally."

 

* * *

 

Thomas drove to Lydia's house and almost tackled her to the floor, hugging her and kissing her cheek repeating 'thank you, thank you,' several times. He then crashed into Scott's and pretty much did the same. He loved his family, he really did. As Minho was still at school with his essay and Teresa had work, he went back to his house, where he and his dads ate and he got a cake, courtesy of Aunt Lydia. He might have to go back and hug her harder.

Like normally they'll do after having dinner and removing all the plates -including washing the dishes- from the table, Thomas and Stiles were playing chess, sitting at the living room table.

"Pops, can I ask you a question?" said the younger brunet as he moved a pawn. They had started playing around 5 minutes.

"Sure. Shoot."

"How come you and dad never had more kids?"

Stiles looked up at him for a moment, "I'm afraid I don't follow you." he then moved a chess piece, looking back at the board.

"Yeah, you see. Aunt Lydia had three children. I mean, Malia was unexpected, and the twins weren't exactly called from Paris but..." Stiles chuckles at his analogy, "but, still, after the twins were born, they said that three was their limit. And Uncle Scott only could have the twins." they normally wouldn't talk about that topic, so Thomas skipped it, "But you and dad could have more kids like, I mean, why stopping at number one?" he moves another chess piece, "I already know it's nothing like Uncle Scott's case... Did dad like to be around children?"

Stiles chuckled, taking one of Thomas' castles, "If it were up to him, you'd have a house full of brothers and sisters."

"So, you didn't want more kids?"

Stiles looked at him, smiling, "Why mess with perfection?" he said as he caressed the side of Thomas' face, making the younger brunet smile. He then moved his hand towards the board one more time and said, "Checkmate." as Thomas let out a groan, saying his dad cheated and they would do it one more time. Stiles smiled, and as Thomas settled the chessboard, he answered 'As many times you want'.

As the played a second time, something popped into Thomas mind, "Hey, pops." Stiles hummed in response, "Can I ask you one more thing?"

"Sure,"

"It's kinda... complicated. I, uh," he scratches the back of his head, "Remember about the guy I told you about? The one I liked?"

"Yeah, what about him? Did he finally realized you're the love of his life?"

"Pops!" groaned Thomas as the older brunet laughed. Well, that make him think. Newt might not be 'in love' with him but... he had kissed him three times. Not one or two, but three times. Sure, one of those he was drunk and wanted to have sex, and the other he was having a panic attack, but still...

"What about him?" asked again Stiles.

"He- he kissed me. Three different times." he huffs, "And I don't- I don't know what that means. Does he likes me? Where those times and accident? Am I a good kisser?"

"Well, if Lydia is right and you are like your father, then I'll tell you you are such a good kisser-" Thomas started making a disgusted face when Stiles continued, "But you know what I always say: One's an incident, two's coincidence--

"Three's a pattern." Thomas finishes. Stiles nods at him.

"I think you have your answer."

Over at night, with Thomas fresh out of the shower and already in his pajamas, he putted his laptop away on his desk. He grabbed his phone and dialed a number. He waited until another voice came through the other line,

"Hey, Ben. It's Thomas. Listen... do you have Chuck's number?"

 

* * *

 

The next day at school after lunch, walking through the halls, Thomas walked towards Chuck, who was waiting for the brunet beside his locker, looking around and acting nonchalantly. Thomas approached him and took out a couple of dollars, giving them to Chuck. Chuck accepted the money, putting it on his pockets and nodding at Thomas as the brunet smiled at him, patting his shoulder and leaving. As he leaved, Chuck gave him the 'okay & good luck' gesture.

On the big, green field at the back of the school there were students on their PE class; some were chatting on the bleachers, some watching the trainings and others were playing soccer. Newt and Teresa were playing soccer with their classmates. Suddenly the noise of the speakers being turned on is heard through the whole field, including a familiar voice. ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdO785uD2UA))

 

_You're just too good to be true_ (the group playing soccer stops)

_Can't keep my eyes off you_ (also everybody stops what they're doing)

_You'd be like heaven to touch_ (and look around confused)

_I wanna hold you so much_ (Thomas appears with a microphone above the bleachers)

_At long last love has arrived_ (and slides down a pipe with one hand, reaching the ground)

_And I thank God I'm alive_ (he begins walking so he's on the top of the bleachers, on everyone's view)

_You're just too good to be true_

_Can't take my eyes off of you_

 

Chuck blows his whistle and -while in the other side of the field with the rest of the band behind him- with his indications the band begins marching as the students look at them and laugh, including a certain blonde. Newt then looks at Thomas, who is dancing freestyle on the bleachers.

 

_I love you, baby_ (he sings pointing at the front, clearly at the blonde)

_And if it's quite alright_ (he begins walking down the bleachers)

_I need you, baby_ (Newt takes a few steps at the front)

_To warm the lonely night_ (and notices all the people looking at Thomas)

_I love you, baby_ (Thomas sits and his gaze meets Newt's)

_Trust in me when I say_ (the brunet smiles at him)

_Oh, pretty baby,_ (he stands up and runs on the steps)

_Don't bring me down, I pray_

_Oh, pretty baby,_ (Newt keeps smiling at him as the others laugh)

_Now that I've found you, stay_

_And let me love you, baby, let me love you..._ (Thomas stops and sits again; he smiles at Newt)

 

A pair of school guards appear and grab Thomas, trying to take him away. The band continues playing as the students applaud at Thomas as he's being taken away. Thomas grins and manages to squirm his way out from the guards grasp, running from them. Everybody laughs and applaud even louder as he dances funny while running away. Newt covers his mouth, still laughing and smiling at the brunet's actions as Teresa nudges him, also smiling and applauding. A guard is about to catch Thomas but the brunet evades him, making him trip over. Thomas runs to the chubby guard and slaps him on the butt. Everyone continues applauding and cheering as Thomas keeps running from the guard grasp.

 

 

At the end Thomas ended up getting detention. But it was worth it.

 

* * *

 

Inside the detention class the teacher was pacing around the rows, looking at each student there. A blonde girl was with her cell phone, giggling –perhaps texting with her boyfriend-and didn’t notice the teacher as he approached her. She didn't saw him as he took away her cell phone.

"I'm confiscating this." was all he said as he continued walking. He stopped as a Cheetos bag caught his eyes attention from a male student's chair. He took it as well, "This too." and walked back to his desk and putted the things there, leaning over it as he observed the students.

Thomas was head down on his desk as the door was opened and someone entered.

_"Mr. Collins,"_ Thomas knew that voice. He raised his head and saw Teresa walking towards the teacher, "can I talk to you for a second?"

"What can I do for you, Agnes?" asked the teacher as he putted his hands on his pants pockets.

"Um, I have some ideas on how we can improve the girls soccer team."

"Great! Let's talk about it later." the teacher turned to his desk, trying to open the Cheetos bag. Teresa looked at Thomas and moved her head. He smiled and nodded. She frowns and does it again, and again.

Was Teresa moving her head way too much? And whispering something too. _Wait._ She was pointing something. Or at someone? Thomas moved his gaze from Teresa to the window; there was the blonde guy waving slightly at him. Thomas couldn't keep himself from smiling. Newt made a 'come here' sign with his hands. Oh, his beautiful, soft hands. _Focus, Thomas!_ He looked again at Teresa, and could see her lips moving like saying 'the window'. Oh. _Oh. Message received._

The teacher turns and looks at her, with her looking back at him and smiling, "As you know, we have a really big game coming and- " she grabs his arm and gasps, turning the teacher away from the class, "Your bicep is huge!" in that moment Thomas sneaks towards the window with his backpack. When he's at the window Teresa turns the teacher again, "Oh my God. The other one's even bigger." she chuckles as the teacher nods, "You don't take steroids, do you? Because I've heard steroids can severely disintegrate your..." she looks and points at his crotch, "package?" the class groans and chuckles at that comment, "I mean, not that I'm thinking about your package." she shakes her head, "That's not the point."

"Let's hope not." says the teacher, trying to act normal. Thomas steps on the floorboard, which makes it creak. The teacher frowns and is about to turn around but Teresa grabs him by the arm and turns him again at her.

"The point is they kick our butts every year, don't they?" Thomas is hiding behind a cabinet and peeks at Teresa, "And I was thinking, I devised a plan that will enable us to finally defeat them."

"Which is?" as the brunet steps up, again the floor creaks and he hides behind the nearest cabinet.

"That thing that you taught us."

"What thing?"

Teresa thinks for a moment, "Misdirection."

"I taught you that?"

"Yeah, you or... Siegfried or Roy?" she panics for a moments and shakes her head, "Anyway, that's not important." Thomas is now at the window and reaches his hand to open it. He does so but gains a creaking sound of the window. Mr. Collins looks beside him, "The--" Teresa grabs his face, making him look at her, "Think about it. Um, they're looking left," she moves his head at the left, "and we're running right." and then at the right. " _Bang!_ We score, we win!" she smiles.

The brunet is getting out of the room, grabbing Newt's hand as a support, "Okay, but how do we get 'em to look left?" accidentally, Thomas trips and grabs the blonde by the waist, banging on the window with their bodies.

Teresa freaks out as the teacher is now turning around, "Um, like this!" she quickly turns him to her and then raises her shirt, revealing her red and dark bra to the teacher. Minho, who was waiting for her outside and looking through the door window, covered his mouth trying to cover his laugh. As the whole class erupts into cheers, Thomas and Newt run down the metal stairs near the windows to the parking lot, not knowing a thing about what was going on over the classroom.

The teacher stares at the girl as she simply waits until the boys are out of range, then she puts down her shirt. She chuckles nervously, "Okay. Well, now that you've seen _'the plan'_ ," her voice wavers, "I'm gonna go and show _'the plan'_ to someone else." she says pointing the door. "Okay."

Teresa turns around and runs out of the room as fast as she can, closing the door behind her as the class applauds at her. Once she's running down the halls Minho appears beside her, grinning like an idiot, "They better end up getting freaking married, if not they better pray to God that I don't castrate them!" she says to him as they run.

"I just thank God for Victoria's Secret's lingerie and our pervy teacher!" he says.

She chuckles; "Amen to that!" they ran to the exit.

 

* * *

 

As Teresa had brought Thomas at school, Sonya had brought Minho and Newt had been dropped by his mom, the only available car was Teresa's. Thomas and Newt ran towards it, climbing and waiting for the other two to appear. Once Minho and Teresa ran towards the car, they started it and got the hell away from school. Once they drove near a fast food place, they parked there.

"Jesus, I was so afraid he was going to find out!" says the blonde, closing his eyes.

"Yeah, I thought for sure I was busted when I was climbing out that window. H-how did you keep him distracted?" he asks his friend.

Teresa shrugs, "I dazzled him with my... wits." Minho starts chuckling, making the girl to hit him on the shoulder to shush him. Both Newt and Thomas didn't knew what was that about but shrugged it off.

"Okay, we're going to get the food. Wait here." and with that, Minho and Teresa exited the car and entered the building, leaving Thomas and Newt alone at the car.

They looked at each other and then at their hands. Couple of seconds passed as they tried to talk but didn't knew what to do.

Thomas cleared his throat, "Thanks,"

"No need."

"No, really. Thanks, I-I didn't deserve it."

"Yes you did. I mean, not everyone sings and dance at the school backyard with the band playing for them."

Thomas chuckles, "Sorry. The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra wasn't available today and my wallet couldn't afford it, so..." Newt chuckles, rolling his eyes at the other, "I'm glad you like it."

They stare at each other, smiling occasionally while looking at their hands. They look up again and feel like they're being dragged to the front, leaning to each other until they're close enough to feel the other breath. Just as they lean for a kiss, they are startled by the sound of the door being open.

"And here comes the most important meal of the day!" said Minho entering the car with two bags.

"That's breakfast." said Teresa, closing her door and giving Thomas a bag.

"Well, in my country this is the most important one. Hamburgers with double cheese and fries." he gives Newt one bag, "Now, where are we going to eat it?"

After a busy and tired day, the sand felt nice on their feet, the wind over their faces and the sound of the waves crashing over the shore was relaxing. They had decided to drive towards the beach to eat peacefully. Fortunately there was no one on the beach, just them.

Minho and Teresa had finished their hamburguers and were now by the shore, the water touching their feet as they searched for sea glass. Thomas and Newt were over the car's hood, finishing eating and talking, occasionally looking over at the other two.

"What happens if they find a broken bottle and cut themselves with it?"

"Nobody send them to look for sea glass, it's on them." said the brunet as he took a sip from his coke.

"Tommy, don't be mean."

"I'm not mean, I'm realistic." he turns to the front and raises his voice, _"If they prick themselves with medical waste that's washed up on the shore it's not our fault!"_

_"Well, I'll prick myself with the antidote sooner or later, wouldn't I?"_ answered back Minho.

Thomas snorted as Newt rolled his eyes. They continued eating when the blonde gave a little jump and wipe his hands, "Oh! I almost forgot. I never got to give you a present for you birthday."

Thomas wipes his hands too, "I told you, you don't have to get my anything."

"But I want to." he grabs his satchel and starts rummaging inside it. Seconds later, he takes out a medium sized canvas. He takes a deep breath and gives it to Thomas.

Thomas takes it and turns it around. The first word in his head is _wow_. The second... _wow_. It's all he can think of. On the canvas, the paint caught the profile of a guy. Dark brown mop of hair that had different shades of brown; eyes brown that almost glowed amber. The colors blend all together and made it look like his eyes and half of his hair was being touched by the sun, even thought it was a painting. His face was adorned with moles that ran down his neck and disappeared into the black shirt he was wearing. The background had a light shade of blue, contrasting on the dark of the shirt.

It was him. It took Thomas almost five seconds to notice that. He was speechless and it seemed that Newt took it as a bad sign.

" I spend the whole afternoon and night in it. I know it's nothing compared to what you did on my birthday, but-

"No!" he practically yelled, "I mean... it's... thanks. It's really beautiful."

Newt smiled at him and then looked back at his satchel. He looked at the front and sighed, putting away a strand of hair and behind his ear. Thomas stared at the canvas on his hands and smiled. Singing and making Newt smile had been the best he could think of, and having detention because of it: worth it.

 

 

_"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead." - Oscar Wilde._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This month is gonna be filled with chapters. The next one will be out on Friday, then again on Tuesday, then on Saturday, then Friday and then I'll tell you. Yeah, pretty hurried but that's how I can cover the month of September. I hope it's not to much. But I promise that I will go back on updating on Friday/Saturday after this, I swear!
> 
> Skiping that, what'd you thought about this chapter? Good things? Bad things? What'd you liked the most?  
> As I told a certain someone *eyeing the corner with fear* I would be busy this week. No, scratch that. I think the whole month I'm gonna be busy, but I won't stop updating.
> 
> See you on Friday!


	18. Fire (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there my loves! Ready for another chapter? Well, you better! Haha, jk.  
> Ok, so this chapter will end with a clifhanger ending. But don't worry as I will continue on the next one.

As PE class had finished, all the boys were near the bleachers, some were resting over the ground, talking to each other. Some others were already going to the locker room. Minho was over the bleachers, sitting with a towel over his leg as he caught his breath. Thomas jogs towards him,

"Need a doctor?"

The Asian boy laughs, "I need a new set of lungs." he looks at the brunet, "Dude... You ran 2 km in 8 minutes."

Thomas nods, "I think I left late."

Minho coughs, "Really? You should be ashamed. You should give another turn." he turns his head to the left to cough and then turns back to look at the brunet, "Do you already have? I guess so." Thomas chuckles. He extends a hand to help the Asian on his feet. "So? What happened?"

"What'd you mean?" they grab their bags and start going towards the locker room.

"Why are you happy? Not that I'm against you being happy," Thomas stares at him, not understanding his friend, "When you are either too happy or stressed, you run like you had rockets on your shoes. So, spit it."

"Nothing."

Over the locker room, the rest of the guys were changing clothes, some between jokes and so. Thomas came out of the showers and started changing; beside him was Alby, who had finished changing. Minho was now entering the showers.

Alby eyed the brunet as he closed his locker, "So... Newt told us he asked you to go to the cinema to see that movie you missed."

_"Ha! I knew there was something!"_ was heard from Minho.

Thomas rolls his eyes, "Don't you need to wash something?" he turned to the dark-skinned guy, "Yeah, so?"

Alby turned to him, firm posture, arms crossed over his chest and icy glare; it made Thomas tremble a little and felt the necessity to cover his crotch. You never know right? "You better not hurt him."

Thomas was fully dressed, and had a towel over his hair, "It's just a movie. You know... popcorn, sodas, there's gonna be people there too."

_"Yeah! Let him believe that, Thomas!"_

"Minho, I swear to God that I'm gonna take all of your stuff and leave you here naked if you don't shut up!" he sighs exasperated and pulls the towel over his shoulders, "But just so you know, I would never hurt him."

"You better." he grabbed his bag from the bench and turned to Thomas one last time, "You're a good guy, Thomas. I know that. Don't make me regret thinking that way."

Thomas nodded. Alby nodded too and after patting his shoulder he leaved the locker room.

Thomas sighed. That had been weird. It was really just a movie. He even had said that Min and Teresa could come too, but he hadn't told them. Nothing personal, but he wanted to spend time with the blonde. He was glad Newt had friends like that. Good friends. Good friend that care about you and threaten anyone who can hurt you, just like family would do.

Oh no. He imagined his talk with Newt parents if they ever dated. A talk with Aunt Allison- _oh God_. A talk with his dads- _oh dear God._

Minho came out of the shower, towel around his waist and sat beside him, "So? How did your talk with papa bear went?"

"Fine. I think."

"I couldn't hear too well since I had water in my ears. Did he threatened you?"

"I'm not sure."

"Did you felt the necessity to cover your manhood?"

"A little, yeah."

Minho pats his back, "He threatened you." and turns around to take his clothes out of his bag.

Thomas keeps thinking about the movie and Newt. Was it a date? No. No, it wasn't. If they ever had another date Thomas would prepare every little detail. He didn't wanted to ruin it. This was just two good friends who will go watch a movie. That's all... right? Thomas puts the towel away. He needed something to distract his mind.

In that instant, as if his best friend had read his mind, Minho turns around, wearing a jockstrap over his face making him look like Bane from Batman, "When Gotham is ashes, then you have my permission to die." he says with a distorted voice.

Thomas stares at him and nods, following his game, "Good to know, Bane." he frowns as Minho stands up, "Is that a jockstrap? _-_ "

_"Let the games begin!"_ yells Minho, raising his arms as he leaves, totally ignoring his best friend. Thomas just snorts. That worked.

 

* * *

 

Thomas went to his Math class as Minho went to Biology. He entered and found Teresa already there, so he went and sat. The class went by but the teacher didn't show up. Not that they mind. Everyone turned to their friends and started talking with each other, and Minho and Teresa weren't an exception.

As they talk, Minho noticed the way she was dressed. She was wearing a white shirt with black sleeves, and a patter in the middle ([x](http://img.dxcdn.com/productimages/sku_204631_1.jpg)). She had a red plaid long sleeve shirt wrapped around her waist, washed out jeans and black & white converse.

"I like your shirt."

She looks at her shirt, "Thanks," and smiles, "I like your hair."

"I know." she rolls her eyes, "So, did you knew Thomas is going to watch a movie with Newt?"

"What? When?"

"Didn't told me. I think it's today," he leans forward, "I think he doesn't want us to ruin it."

"That's offensive."

"Tell me about it." he takes out an ice cream sandwich and unwraps it. Teresa stared as he ate it,

She looks around, "You can't eat that here. What if a teacher comes and see you?"

"Then I'll throw it far away from me." he continues eating.

"Well, at least share!"

Minho swallows and nods, muttering 'where are my manners?' as he offers the sandwich at the raven girl. Teresa leans forward; she puts a strand of hair behind her ear and bites off a piece. She sat back and chew the piece, enjoying the sweet feeling of ice cream. She didn't seem to notice but she had a little bit of ice cream on the corner of her lip. Minho notices it and chuckles.

"What?"

"Um, you've got a little..." he points at his own lip. She licks it but it doesn't come off, "No, more like-

"Here?" she tries on the other side but nothing, just makes the Asian chuckle again.

Minho chuckles and puts the sandwich over his chair, "Let me,"

Minho leans forward just a little and brings his hand to Teresa's face. With his thumb he traces her lips with slow moves; Teresa stares at him, while he is looking at her lips. Her heart beats fast and she really hopes her face isn't red. The Asian wipes the ice cream and sits back, and licks his thumb, smiling at her. Teresa stays there on her seat, eyes still on the Asian as he grabs his ice cream sandwich and bites another piece.

The moment the bell rang Teresa stood up from her seat and exited the classroom. She quickly runs through the hallways, pushing against other people and runs towards the bathroom. There was only one girl there. The brunet girl finished her makeup and exited, leaving Teresa alone.

She stood there for a few minutes, gripping the sink as she tried to calm down. _'He had been too close and then what he did after wiping the ice cream...'_ she shook her head. Splashing cold water to her face seemed to calm her, but her face was still a little red.

She heard a few laughs outside and entered a cubicle so nobody could see her (also to not disturb). She closed the door and hop on the toilet, her hands at each side of the wall, head to the front. _Just wait until they leave._

The door swing open and the distinct sound of heels was heard all over the bathroom. A group of girls entered, laughing and talking about things,

One of the girls chuckled, "I know, right?!"

"Okay, okay. Talking about disasters... Did you saw that girl that always hangs out with Sonya's boyfriend and the Hale boy?"

Teresa frowned. They were talking about her.

"The one with black hair?"

"Yes. Most of the time she wears sports clothes, or baggy clothes. You saw what she was wearing today?"

"No, what?"

"A red plaid shirt around her waist and a cap!" the girls started laughing, "What a redneck girl!

"More like a tomboy girl!" the laughs continued, some of the girls grabbing their stomachs for air. Teresa was doing the same, but for other reason.

"Have you ever seen her wearing a skirt or a dress?"

"No."

"Never."

"I bet she doesn't even have one!" and more laughter. Teresa just continued gripping tight at the walls, her knuckles turning white.

"And don't get me started with the makeup. Not even a lipstick! What is she?"

"Yeah! I mean, not that it would make a big difference, because," a snort, "What kind of guy would even look at her?"

Teresa brought a hand to her mouth, covering it in an attempt to muffle her crying. The other hand still grabbing the wall.

"I know! She doesn't even have that much breast!"

"Yeah! This wall here has more than her!"

Teresa bite her lips and turned her head to the left; her eyes stung. Her chest hurt. Her hand felt numb. She wanted to leave. She wanted to leave _now_.

"Oh, and did you saw the way she was looking at Sonya's boyfriend?"

Something cracked. Something definitely cracked inside her. No, no, no. Please don't say it. Please don't-

"What you mean? As in...?" she made a strange noise and they all chuckled, " _OMG_ , really?"

"Aha,"

"Should we warn Sonya?"

"Why bother? That girl doesn't have a chance with him."

Teresa's legs were trembling and she was sure that if they didn't leave in the next minute she would fall.

Another voice spoke, "The bell is about to ring, come on. I don't want to sit next the window. The sun will ruin my skin."

"Yeah, me too."

The same noise of heels that was heard when they entered the bathroom was heard again when they leaved, chatting and laughing. Waiting just a few more seconds, the bell rang and Teresa let go of the wall, standing on the floor. She slowly opened the stall's door and exited it. Standing in front of the mirror, she looked at her reflection. Was she really that unattractive? I mean, she wasn't a Victoria Secret's model but still...

She raised a hand and touched her face, her cheek, under her eyes, her nose, her lips. Then she looked at her messy hair. _'No.'_ she shook her head, _'Don't think stupid things like that.'_ gripping her satchel tighter, she exited the bathroom.

The halls were empty. Good. She put her hands over her knees and breathed deep, closing her eyes. _'Breath deep, Teresa. Breath deep.'_

"Oh, there you are."

Oh no. Not now. She quickly stood up right.

Minho walked towards her, stopping a few steps away from her, "Found you. Hey, class is about to start-" he noticed something was off with the girl, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I- umm, needed air. That's all."

"Are you sure you're okay? You seem..." he took a step forward.

But Teresa took one back, "Yeah, I'm-I'm fine. I-" she looked at the other side of the hall, "I-" and shook her head, "I can't-"

But before Minho could ask what was wrong or what did she meant, Teresa ran to the exit's door. Minho almost followed her but stopped in his tracks. He looked back at the classrooms and then at the exit door. With a painful expression, he turned around and walked to his classroom.

 

* * *

 

The bell rang and another class ended. Students came out of the classrooms; Thomas exited his and started looking around for the raven girl. She hadn't been in class and that was strange. She wasn't the type who skipped a class. 'Maybe Minho saw her,' and with that he searched for his friend. He found him exiting Math class and going towards his locker,

"Hey, Min. You know where Teresa is?"

"She leaved." answered the Asian as he opened his locker.

Thomas frowned, "What'd you mean she leaved?"

Minho turns to him, "She came out of the bathroom, ran and leave after the bell rang. I couldn't do anything."

"Maybe she felt sick."

_'She did seemed pale'_ thought Minho, "You think so?"

"Yeah, I know her and she wouldn't leave school if it wasn't a big deal. We'll go to her apartment after school, okay?"

"But what about your date with Newt?"

"It's not a date," said Thomas as he raised a finger, "Second, if Teresa is feeling sick it's my duty as her best friend to check on her, don't you think? So, we'll go after school."

"Yeah,"

"Okay, now I need you to help me with that thing the teacher was explaining in Math class 'cus I didn't understood a thing."

"You're a disaster, shank. What would you do without me?"

 

* * *

 

Over her apartment, Teresa was lying on the floor (more over the fluffy rug) on her back, looking at the ceiling. She had changed into more comfortable clothes, like pants and a blue long sleeved shirt. The stereo was on, the music drowning any thought Teresa might had. _Classes had already finished_ , she thought by seeing the clock.

_'Why did I had to leave? Maybe everyone noticed and now are worried. Or maybe they didn't noticed. Well, Thomas is distracted by Newt, Alby and Gally are still new so they have other things to worry about, Aris must be occupied with sending daggers to Gally, and Minho must be with Sonya.'_ That made her remember the bathroom conversation-

She shook her head. _'No. No more bad memories. Shake it off, Teresa.'_ Pink's 'Blow Me (One Last Kiss)' started ringing over her coffee table, startling the raven girl,

 

_I think I've finally had enough, I think I maybe think too much_

_I think this might be it for us (blow me one last kiss)_

 

Aris' ringtone. She rolled on her stomach to reach for the coffee table, grabbing her phone and answering,

"Hello?" she rolled on her back again.

Aris' voice came, _"Hey, where are you? I didn't saw you at the two last classes. Are you okay?"_

"Yeah, I just... felt a little dizzy. I needed to get some air,"

_"At your apartment?"_

Teresa rolls her eyes, "When I managed to calm down there was half hour of class, I wasn't gonna stay."

_"Okay. I just wanted to check if you were fine."_

"I'm fine."

The lighter brunet didn't say anything for like five seconds and then _"Are you listening Elvis Presley's 'Heartbreak hotel' while lying on the floor, Teresa?"_

Teresa stays still, not even blinking. Damn, he knew her so well! Moving away a strand of hair she answered "....No?"

On the other line Aris sighed, _"Ok, let's pretend I believe you."_ Teresa grimaces, _"I have to go. My mom wants me to help her with dinner. But I'll demand an explanation tomorrow, ok? See you."_

"See ya," he hung up, and she put her phone on the floor, right beside her head. Just as she closed her eyes, a knock came to her door. She frowned. Who might be? The landlord coming to tell her to stop putting sad music?

Whatever the reason, she stood up and turned off the music; she walked towards her door and opened it, her eyes opening wide at seeing the ones in front of her: the gang (expect Sonya and Aris) were standing there, holding bags of chips, popcorn, two boxes of pizza and two coke bottles, looking at her happily.

"So are you gonna let us in or...?" asked Minho.

Flabbergasted, Teresa moved aside and the guys entered. As she closed the door, she asked, "Don't get me wrong, guys, but what are you doing here?"

"You leaved." said Thomas a he putted the cokes over the kitchen counter.

Minho nodded, "Yeah, and we were worried something had happened."

"Are you okay?" asked Newt.

Teresa nodded, "Yeah. I, uh, felt a little dizzy, that's all. I already told Aris that."

At the mention of the light brunet guy, Gally's whole stance changed. He stills, looking around casually.

Noticing that, the raven girl spoke "Aris isn't here."

"I wasn't going to ask that." he said that, but he seemed relieved. Ok. Something Aris must tell her was what was with them.

Teresa rolled her eyes and then turned to the brunet, "So? What's that?"

"We brought food, something to drink and movies."

"Okay. I'll go to the kitchen and get some stuff. You stay here and..." she moves her hands, pointing to the couch, "make yourself comfortable."

Minho looks at her, "I'll help,"

The two of them went to the kitchen as the gang accommodated in the living room. Teresa took out three glasses and put them on the counter, then took out other three. As she did that, Minho grabbed a large tray and putted them glasses on them, also grabbing plates. He eyed outside the kitchen and then at the raven girl.

Minho stood beside her and nudged her softly, "You okay?"

Teresa smiled without teeth and nodded. She turned to grab the other glasses and napkins; Minho followed and they went back to the living room. Putting the tray on the coffee table, beside the pizza, the raven girl turned to the gang,

"So? Which movie did you brought?"

Thomas snorts, "Just _one_ movie? Really, T?" he opened his bag and took out at least five movies.

Teresa smiles, "That's why you're my favorite." she puts her hands on her hips, "So? Which one goes first? What am I saying?" she giggles as she grabs 'Scream' from Thomas' hands.

"I haven't watch it." said Newt.

Teresa's eyes widen, " _WHAT?!_ You haven't?!"

"He's not missing too much." says Gally shrugging. Thomas swore he saw something crack inside Teresa.

"How can you say that?! It's classic! No, no, no. You can't say that. Wes Craven is probably turning in his grave right now." she stops, "You're not gonna ask who is he, right?"

Gally rolls his eyes, "I know who Craven is. But I think 'The Hills Have Eyes' is a better movie than 'Scream'."

Instead of fighting the dirty blonde, Teresa huffed and turned to the DVD, introducing the movie and grabbing the control, "Amateur hour," she muttered as she went back to the couch, "AMATEUR HOUR!" and plopped down the couch, sitting beside Thomas.

 

* * *

 

Watching a movie with her friends while eating pizza was one of the things Teresa loved. Others were staying on her bed, drinking a cup of tea and reading a good book. But right now she needed this. Thomas, Newt, Teresa and Minho were on the couch, while Alby and Gally were on the floor, lying on the puffs Teresa had brought to the living room. Teresa was sat in between the brunet and the Asian, while Newt was on Thomas' other side.

Occasionally he would jump a little when Ghostface appeared on screen out of the nowhere. He would unintentionally grab Thomas' arm and hide half face on it. Thomas didn't seem to mind. Teresa rolled her eyes every time she caught them. On her side, she had her legs brought up, almost hugging them while watching the movie. Her shoulders were barely inches away from Minho's and every time Newt jumped on the couch, they bumped. Minho didn't seem to notice or didn't seem to mind. But Teresa felt her heart jump. Just for a second. Then the scene where the two girls were in the bathroom talking about Sidney while Sidney was hiding in a stall appeared and it made a knot on Teresa's throat. It remind her why her friends where here and were watching this movie with her. If Minho felt her going still and then shake it off, he hide it too well. Gally kept trying to make negative comments about the movie but Newt would throw him popcorns at him to shush him, being interested in the movie plot. Maybe he would like to watch the whole saga some other time.

Few hours later, the movie had ended, (Newt definitely wanted to watch the saga, concluded Teresa), and the gang were on the third movie, after 'Scream' they decided on 'Lucy', which was currently ending.

"Scarlett Johansson is so hot." said Gally.

Minho nodded, "You have no idea."

And then as '50 First dates' started playing, an awfully loud sound has heard, roaring over the apartment. It came from outside. The teenagers started looking around.

Pausing the movie, Minho asked, "What's that?"

"It's the fire alarm." says Teresa, looking at Thomas.

Thomas nods, "I'll go check," and with that he stands up and walks towards the door. Opening it, he sticks his head out and sees as the neighbors open their doors and look outside too. Some of them were out and walking towards the stairs. The other and more important thing he notices is that there's smoke on the corridor, feeling his lungs making him cough a little.

_"Is it a false alarm?"_ he hears Gally ask.

Thomas goes back inside and looks at his friends, "There's smoke on the corridor. Come on,"

The gang stands up and follows the brunet, exiting the apartment. They do the same as the neighbors: go to the stairs and get the hell out of there. No time to go back for stuff. Paraphernalia be damned. Walking over the stairs was difficult if there was other people filling it and pushing against you. Gally, Alby and Minho were ahead them, while he, Newt and Teresa were a few steps behind.

Thomas felt a little more at ease knowing where his friends were. Instinctively he grabbed Newt's hand, gripping it tight as they went through the halls. The people there were running, pushing and yelling. _'Man, I wonder if this is what the Titanic felt like?'_

_"Tom!"_ he heard a yell coming from the back so he and the blonde stopped and turned around, looking at Teresa being pushed by some tall and chubby men, avoiding her passing.

"Teresa!" still holding Newt's hand, he ran towards the girl and grabbed her hand with his free hand, "Come on!" he pulled them towards their friends.

They continued walking and running towards the stairs, people kept pushing and yelling. In this floor there wasn't fire but there was more smoke. The moment they came down the stairs, they began coughing, the thick dark smoke entering their lungs and blurring their sight. Thomas looked beside them a little girl no more than 6-years, looking around the people, hugging a pink blanket. He didn't saw any grown up holding her hand or worrying about her. _Did she got lost?_ Suddenly a fat and bald man passed beside her, pushing her to be ahead and Thomas saw as the little girl fell on the floor crying.

He let go of Teresa's hand to help the little girl, carrying her into his free arm and running, "Don't stop! Don't stop, Teresa!" he yelled even if he didn't turn around to see at his friend. He knew she was behind him. They kept running, and running, pressing the girl over his chest, covering her from the smoke.

_Finally!_ The glorious entrance of the building now the exit for them. There were firemen helping people cross the door, covering them from the smoke. The gang crossed the entrance and went quickly outside, coughing as the smoke dispersed on the air. Thomas looked at the ambulances and the firemen trucks. Damn. He wondered if his dad was here.

_"Mommy!"_ said the little girl, still holding Thomas' hand. The brunet saw a young lady turning around and smiling brightly at the girl, who seemed to be her daughter. She ran towards her, so Thomas let go of her hand; he watched as the lady hugged her daughter, caressing her hair and looking at Thomas mouthing a 'thank you'. He nodded and went to his friends.

Gally was looking at the apartment, letting out a sigh. Minho let out a deep breath, kneeling to the ground, "Did you shit on your pants?" he said to the wind, "So did I." the gang chuckled.

"Is everyone okay?" asked a grey haired fireman, holding his arms out so everybody would listen to him.

Thomas watched as the residents looked at each other as if trying to see if they were all there. Some were chuckling, looking at their faces. He smiled and turned to his side to say something to Teresa.

Brown eyes opened wide as he noticed his friend wasn't beside him. He looked around. _Maybe she was on another group, yeah_. He continued to look around, getting worried each second it passed. Residents, residents, firemen, the gang, then lady and the girl, more residents. His head started to spin. Newt noticed this and started talking to him but the brunet couldn't hear him. He was busy trying to find his friend. He couldn't have lost her. He was holding her hand went they were on the building, so-

And like being struck by lighting Thomas remembered something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He had let go of her hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me, please.


	19. Fire (Part 2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to RavenNewtmasHowl, DarkPenWriter and Afuri; thank you so much for your kind words! You are the kind of people why I continue writing with all my heart!

Someone crying. That's why she stopped running as the building was on fire. As people ran through the halls, pushing, yelling and some others even crying.

Teresa looked around but didn't found the source of the cries. She stopped running behind Thomas and heard it again. A kid was crying somewhere and nobody had even noticed. Looking back at Thomas' direction, she noticed as he continued running, try to pass between the sea of people.

"Don't stop, Teresa!" he had yelled but he didn't turned to look at her. He must have thought she was still following him.

People kept pushing, clearly mad that someone was standing in their way but she didn't cared. She took a few steps forward and the crying continued. She looked back at the other side of the hall and making up her mind, walked towards that direction. Walking away from her friends and safety. Some people glanced at her like she was crazy as she was running to contrary side, running right at where everyone was running away from. Others didn't cared, didn't even flinched as she passed beside them; they only cared about themselves. Not that Teresa blames them. That's a normal animal behavior: Self-preservation.

Maybe that's why she's still running even though she's tired and scared. Fear causes the organism to release adrenaline and right now that's the only thing that kept Teresa to reach the next floor. The sea of people was left behind but the thick smoke wasn't. She covered her nose with her arm as she continued hearing the cries. They were getting louder.

Looking at the open doors she merely popped in her head to see if there wasn't anyone else there. Next floor it is. There was fire in this floor; god, it was hotter. But the crying got louder so this must be it. She started coughing as she reached the third door and the cries came from there. _This was it!_ She went to open the door but _\--_ The door was closed. She tried to push it but it was futile, it must be locked.

She pounded over the door and yelled "Hang in there!"

Cursing, she looked around trying to find something she could use to open it. Her eye fell over a baseball bat coming out of the fifth door. She ran towards it and grabbed it, walking back to the third door. _Thomas' father would be proud_ , she thought as she swing the bat and it collided with the door. She hit it several times until the door swung open, her body almost falling to the ground.

Inside it was hotter. The fire got into the apartment but it wasn't too much fire. She still could make it. Her eyes scanned the whole place, and when they reached the corner near a bookshelf she found him: A little kid no more than five was crying in the corner of the room, holding a Pokemon plush on his tiny hands. Teresa smiled,

"Hey, hey there," she looked around the room, "It's all right, I'm here to help."

"A-are you a fi-firefighter?" asked the kid with trembling voice.

Teresa chuckled, "No, no. But I'm going to help you, so you don't have to worry, ok? I'm going to get you out of here, yeah? That sounds good?" the kid nodded, gripping tighter at his plush, "But I need you to stay there and be strong, okay?"

She took air and ran inside the apartment, covering her face from the fire. Once inside, she walked towards the kid; she checked if he didn't had any injuries and sighed in relief, the kid in return hugged her tight. She returned the hug but separate to grab a blanket lying there on the floor. She wrapped it around the kid and carried him, turning to the door once again. But there was a problem. There was more fire and it was covering half the room, preventing them to go to the entrance.

_Damn it!_

She looked around to try and find another escape route but found nothing. Holding tight at the kid she said,

"It's all right, it's all right, just-- Close your eyes and everything will be over, okay? Trust me," he felt him nod and hug her tight. She prepared herself and ran towards the entrance, avoiding the bookshelf that fell and the flames. She jumped through he fire and then kneeled, stopping to look at the kid.

"You alright?" he nodded, "See? It wasn't that bad." she looked at the door, "Let's get out of here,"

But as they ran towards the door, one of the hanging plants near the entrance fell and hit Teresa square into the neck, knocking her to the ground. The kid stopped outside and looked at her with worry. He shook her, called for her but she stay still. The flames broke a window and startled the kid, making him run towards the stairs.

Teresa lied there on the floor as darkness came over her.

 

* * *

 

Thomas stared at the building, not been able to see or hear anything else. His ears were buzzing. He saw as the crowd started talking between them, the firefighters near the building, Newt trying to talk to him. He fell to the ground on his knees, his feet not able to support him. Newt jerked his body towards him in a flash and kneeled beside him,

"This isn't your fault, Tommy. This isn't your fault."

"I let go of her hand to help the little girl who fell. I let go of her hand because my other hand was grabbing yours and I didn't wanted to let go."

Newt felt something inside him tremble. He swallowed hard. But before he could say something, a voice startled them.

_"THOMAS!"_

They turned their heads to the right and saw Thomas' dad running towards them. Of course, he was a firefighter.

"Dad." he said in a zombie like tone but then he sprout back to his feet and ran to his dad, his hands clutching Derek's jacket, "Teresa! Teresa is- She's in the- I couldn't!!"

"What?"

"Teresa's in there."

Derek turned to look at the building and then back at his son, "Okay, Thomas, it's okay. Everything's gonna be fine, okay?" the other nodded, "Are you fine? You aren't hurt or-" Thomas shook his head. Derek looked over at the blonde, "You're okay too?" Newt nodded, "Ok. I'll be right back," and with that he went back to the truck.

Minho approached them; Newt stepped closer to the brunet, "Thomas, you heard your dad. Everything's gonna be fine."

"Yeah, Thomas. Teresa's gonna be fine."

Thomas turned to glare at his best friend, "How are you sure? Can you assure me that Teresa will be alright? Can you promise me that? _Huh?!_ "

"Thomas, calm down, okay? I'm just trying to help-

"Well, then don't!" yelled the brunet. Minho stared at him and nodded, turning around and walking towards Gally and Alby.

Newt looked at him, "Thomas, it's not Minho's fault."

"So it's my fault?"

"It's nobody's fault." Thomas huffs and turns around, looking at anything but the building. He feels something warm grabbing his hand in a comforting way. He looks down and sees a hand. Newt's hand. _'Minho's right. I need to calm down.'_ he breathes slow a few times and nods to the blonde, who gave a squeeze on his hand. He gripped back.

_"Wait, there's someone coming out!"_

At the yell, Thomas turned his head so fast he's impressed he hadn't broken his neck. He stared at the building's entrance, seeing as firemen were talking and pointing inside the building. A fireman exited the building with a small kid on his arms; they went to the ambulance to check the kid. Thomas stared at the building but no one else came out. He gave a few steps forward but nothing.

_"Roman!"_

A man ran towards the ambulance and hugged the little kid, crying as he did. He checked his face, arms, body for any wound. He hugged him again,

"You're okay! You're okay!"

"The lady! The lady helped me!"

The man separated a little, "The lady- what lady?"

"The one with black hair."

_Teresa._

His mind registered that and turned to look at the building. Teresa had returned to save this kid? Risking her life? But where was she? Still trapped? Why didn't she returned with the kid? Did something happened-

His head felt dizzy, his whole body hot. No, no, _no_.

He looked around at his surroundings: Firemen trying to put out the fire. The lights of the ambulance. People scattered over the street, some resting and others looking at the fireman or the building. The gang sitting on the ground, worried expressions written all over their faces. His father talking to other fireman, pointing at the building as he did so. The little kid holding a Squirtle plush while his father hugged him.

It was so clear what he needed to do. His heart raced and his hands were sweating. Yeah, he knew what do to.

On the other side a few steps away from Thomas, Newt was biting his fingernails in worry as he looked at the building. His eyes wandered over Thomas; he saw the look on the brunet's face, the way his shoulders tensed, and he knew in that moment what was going to happen.

"Don't do it, Tommy! _Don't you bloody do it!_ "

But it was futile 'cus as he yelled that while reaching out his arm, Thomas threw his body in direction towards the building, passing between the people and firemen, going directly at the door.

Derek's head turned towards the source of the yelling, looking at Newt who was being restrained by a fireman and had his hand stretched out, and then at his son running towards the building, "Thomas! Don't!" he gave one step to run to the teen and then the two pillars of the entrance fell, blocking the doors. Thomas had entered the building just in time as he saw the crumbles behind him.

 

* * *

 

_No air._

That's the first thing he could notice inside the building. And it was hot. Damn it was hot inside! He couldn't see the flames so he thought they were on the next level. Teresa might be near her room. Damn it. That was on the third floor. He better hurry, they don't have too much time.

"Teresa?!" he yelled, but he couldn't hear a thing. He tried it again, going upstairs to where he saw her last time, "Teresa! _Teresa!_ "

 

* * *

 

Teresa was laying on the floor, eyes closed and body still. A finger slowly moved, then her whole hand. She coughed a little, the smoke had gotten into her lungs. Her head hurt and she felt something sliding down her neck. Her body felt heavy, but she didn't had the strength to get up.

"Teresa."

_A voice? She heard a voice._ Teresa slowly opened her eyes and spotted in the near corner a tall, blonde woman, wearing a black suit. Teresa recognized her. Ava Paige. Aside from being their vice principal, she had been a social worker when Teresa was at the adoption system. She had been more like a mother to her like any other woman. She was smart, reserved, strong, firm but sweet and kind. When her current parents finally adopted her, she never saw Miss Paige again. _'I think she quit that job.'_ But she found her again when she came to Beacon Hills and that make her happy. This was a hallucination. Her mind was playing her jokes. She closed her eyes again.

"You've got to get out of here. Stand up, child." she said.

Teresa still had her eyes closed, "I can't... it _hurts_."

**_"Teresa!"_ **

Her eyes slowly opened. Was _that Thomas? I thought I heard his voice. He's near. I've got to-_

She tries to move her hands to support on the floor to get up, but she can't, "My hands won't stop shaking."

"Breathe. Teresa, breathe. Try it again." the young girl tries again, moving her trembling hands around the floor and when she manages to support her torso, she falls, letting out a frustrated groan, "Ok. How do we approach a situation like this?" Teresa bites her lip, trembling hands touching the floor, "Deedee!"

"Calmly!" chocked out the dark-haired girl.

"And?"

She slurps her nose, "And unemotional-unemotionally." she stutters.

"Then stop crying, and do it."

She bites her lips in decision, looking at the front as her apparition went away. Teresa managed to crawl towards the door this time, every time she moved her legs and arms it hurt like hell but she shook it off. She reached the door and with all the air she could held in her lungs yelled, _"THOMAS!"_

 

* * *

 

**_"THOMAS!"_ **

 

He heard it. His name, it was his name. It came from upstairs!

_"Teresa!"_

He ran and ran and ran. He had avoided the flames until now. The corridor had fire and thick smoke, making the brunet cough harder. His sight was blurring, but he couldn't stop now.

_"Teresa?"_

He walked through the corridor, looking around to several things over the floor. The wood creaked under his feet. Just as he reached the middle, he saw her: her raven hair sprawled and her stretched arm out of a room.

"Teresa." his legs started moving before his brain could even register it, "Teresa!" he ran towards her and kneeled on the floor, taking a look on his friend. He gently turned her around, facing him, "Teresa,"

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, "Tom. You're here."

"Of course I'm here. I wouldn't leave my best girl behind," she managed to smile but weakly.

He glanced inside the apartment. _'This must be the little's boy place.'_ , he thought. After getting her out of there and over the corridor, he helped her get up on her feet, putting her arm over his shoulders for support and his arm around her waist.

"Come on, we need to get out of here."

 

* * *

 

"No! Derek!"

A fireman yelled as he and other two firemen were trying to hold back Derek; the man struggling to get out of their grip and go to the building.

"My son is in there!"

"We can't let you in! The fire weakened the walls and if you try to move those pillars out of the way, they might fall and the whole building can collapse!"

They managed to calm him... for now. Derek looked like he wanted to rip someone's throat... with his teeth. The captain looked at all the group and nodded, like he had made up his mind. He clapped, "Okay, boys, this is what we are gonna do!"

Over the crowd of people, the gang was standing there, looking like the rest as the firefighters tried to move the pillars.

Minho was in a squatting position, "Thomas, you stupid son of a bitch. You better come out alive."

Alby and Gally were just looking at the building, arms tense and hearts beating fast.

A few steps away from them was Newt, barely standing on his legs as his eyes were glued to the building, to the firefighters, to the smoke and flames that came out of the building. His heart beat faster than anyone else's. He was worried for Teresa.

' _Why hadn't she been able to get out with the little boy? Where was she? Was she okay?'_ But more importantly... he was worried about Thomas. ' _Why did he had to enter?! What the bloody hell was he thinking? Is he nuts?!_ _Thomas, you better not die. You still haven't seen that movie and-- You said you wanted to be with me and I want that. I really do. You can't just leave me.'_

Minho had his hands turned into fists, still looking at the front. He wanted to run and enter the building, but he knew he wouldn't make it. The firefighters wouldn't allow it. He was worried about his best friend. His mind started wandering about Teresa. He was worried about her too. He felt something on his chest move but he contributed it to the feeling of impotence.

He turned his head towards Newt and saw the blonde muttering under his breath _'Come on, Thomas. Come on,'_

The firefighters managed to move the pillars without anything else falling; they went back to their truck to gear themselves so they could enter the building. Thomas' dad was more than ready. As they were preparing themselves, over the crowd, the woman who had the little girl Thomas had helped looked over the building and her eyes widen; holding her daughter firmly and pointing at the front she yelled,

_"There!"_

Everyone looked at the figures coming out of the front door of the building. Thomas seemed to be unharmed, only by a few scratches on his cheeks and his messy clothes; Teresa had her right arm around Thomas' shoulders for support, both coughing a little. The paramedics practically jumped towards them, separating them so they could check the guys. Thomas was brought aside and they sat him on the back of the ambulance, a paramedic gave him an oxygen mask. His brown eyes only could focus the girl being taken to another ambulance, also giving her an oxygen mask and checking for injuries. He knew she would be okay, he just knew.

As they gave Thomas oxygen, he saw his father approaching him and then a snap on his neck. He brought back his hand but before he could refute he was engulfed in a tight hug, his face pressed against his dad's chest.

"Don't you ever do that again! You heard me?!" Thomas only nodded, gripping tight at Derek's jacket just like when he was little.

One of his father's partners approached them. He shook hands with Derek as the older one separated from the hug. He then patted Thomas on the shoulder, "You were very brave, young man. Reckless, but very brave." he looked at Derek, "He might even be a fireman one day. _Ha!_ " he smiles. Thomas chuckles at the frown his dad makes at the other man, making him stop smiling and go checking the girl. _Way to go, dad._

A hand fell on his shoulder and he turned his head sideways to look at Minho, "Well... You always did have more balls than brains." Thomas chuckles at what his friend said. Derek couldn't hide the way the corner of his lips went up.

Just as Derek separated from the brunet and went to check on Teresa with Minho, Newt ran at Thomas' side, checking the boy's face and body, "What were you thinking?!"

"Teresa was inside, and I-

"I know what you were thinking! I meant what could possibly impulse you to do such a stupid thing!" he smacked the brunet's shoulder, "What if you both got trapped inside?! Or if you got hurt and couldn't save Teresa?!"

Thomas removed the oxygen mask, "It's okay, Newt. Nothing happened, and if it happened then-

"I can't lose you." said the blonde, making Thomas stop and notice the watery brown eyes in front of him, "Because if I ever did, I'd have lost my best friend, my soul mate, my smile, my laugh, my everything." he ended with hard breaths, staring at him.

Thomas looked at his eyes and a click came to his mind. There it was, at the blonde's eyes: a spark. The same spark his pops had whenever he looked at his dad and smiled at him. And the same one that his dad had whenever his pops was near. The same spark his uncles Scott and Isaac looked at each other and at the twins. The same when aunt Lydia looked at Peter trying to teach Malia maths, and when uncle Peter watched aunt Lydia playing baseball with the twins. The same spark.

"You really love me." he whispered.

Newt let out a choked sigh, "Yes, I really love you, you shank!" and then he joined their lips, feeling tears going down his cheeks as he did so. Thomas closed his eyes and happily cupped the blonde's face, tears moistening his fingers but he didn't cared. He was happy that he had rescued one of his best friends and that now he was kissing another.

 

 

_Thomas Merton once wrote, "Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone; we find it with another."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THEY KISSED AGAIN! But this time is kind of official ;)  
> What will happen next? Will they now be together for real? Or you'll have to wait more? What about Teresa? You'll have to wait until Friday~


	20. After The Fire, There's Ashes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On this chapter you'll know what happened between Gally and Aris. Also cute scene involving Minho and Teresa. And at the end of the chapter I think you'll be pleased with Newtmas.
> 
> Note: Just remember that in this universe, some guys can get pregnant. Not that there's gonna be mpreg in the story! Maybe for the next one ;) but just keep that in mind, okay?

_"True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever cost." - Arthur Ashe._

 

 

They all were over the hospital, over the waiting room. Derek was over the reception, writing down some stuff a nurse had ask him. Alby and Gally were sitting on the chairs, the dark skinned guy looking at his hands and the dirty blonde at the clock. Minho kept pacing beside them, looking at the ground. Newt was sitting on the chair near the brunet boy, who was standing up, pressed against the wall and looking at the nurses and doctors who walked through the halls. He kept tapping the floor with his foot, waiting for someone to approach them. Talk to them. _Anything._ He was growing impatient when he felt Newt's hand on his. He looked at the blonde, who smiled softly at him.

_"Guys!"_

They turned to see Sonya and Aris running towards them through the halls. The blonde girl ran into Minho's arm, hugging him and checking his face even though he kept telling her he was fine. To add more surprise, Aris went and hugged Thomas. Newt tried not to feel jealous but he turned his face to the other side. As they separated, the light brunet asked,

"How is she? Is she okay?"

"I-I think. She was fine in the ambulance but the doctors--

Aris nodded, as if he understand what he was trying to say. When Sonya separated from the Asian, she and Aris changed places. Alby patted Aris' shoulder, telling him he was fine. As he turned around, he saw Gally standing near. Instead of hugging or patting or touching, they just stared at each other. The light brunet looked back at the gang, ignoring the other boy.

Then a redhead nurse came with a board on hand, looking at the gang, "Friends and relatives of Miss Teresa Agnes?" they all approached the nurse in a blink, surprising her.

"How is she?" asked Thomas.

"She's fine. She's stable," they all exhaled in relief, "You may come but... one at a time." they all stared at Thomas, who understood and nodded, following the nurse. The rest of the gang sat again on the chairs.

Derek finished writing and turned to see Thomas following a redhead nurse. She must be taking him to Teresa's room, he thought. The sound of the elevator caught his attention and he turned his head towards it; as the doors opened, he saw Stiles. The older brunet noticed him too and in the next second he was running out of the metal box.

_"Derek!"_ he yelled as he ran towards the taller man and hugged him tight, "What happened?"

"The building got on fire. Thomas entered the building to rescue his friend. They're both fine but... I-I couldn't stop him in time-

Stiles nodded, still hugging Derek, "But he's okay. He's okay."

"But what if he weren't?" they separate a little, "What if something happened to him and it was all my fault?"

The brunet shakes his head, "But it wasn't your fault he's a thick head yet loyal like you. He was trying to save a friend; he didn't think on the consequences." before Derek could add something else, Stiles kissed the corner of his mouth, "And he's fine, he's fine... They both are."

 

* * *

 

There was a steady beep from the machines, reassuring everyone who heard it that she was still alive. Teresa's left arm lay bandaged and she had a neck brace. She had a myriad of tiny cuts over her arms and chest; her bottom lip a bit swollen. A butterfly stitch was over her temple. There was some worry about the head/neck injury, but when she was scanned, it revealed no damage to her brain or skull. The doctors had told them she had broken a rib but there was no tearing from the lungs.

Besides from all that, the doctor told them she was fine.

After the nurse guide him towards the room and left with a simple nod, Thomas turned to his friend on bed. She looked up at him and smiled.

He sat on the chair beside her bed, "Hey,"

"Hey," it sounded soft, "How are you?"

"Me? I'm fine. What about you?"

"I've been better." she smiles and then frowns, stopping for a moment like she is remembering something, "The boy!" her eyes widen, "The little b-boy with the plush, I-!!" she tries to get up but Thomas stops her.

"Hey, hey, calm down. He's fine. Thanks to you." she lies down.

"And I'm fine thanks to you, right?" Thomas grimaces at that as Teresa frowns, "You could've died."

"I know. But you're my friend. I just couldn't leave you there..."

Teresa stretches her hand up and touches Thomas' cheek, "Knights in armor don't come any shinier than you." the brunet softly smiles.

"The doctors asked for your parents. I...I told them you were here on your own, and that your parents weren't available for the moment. They still asked for their phone number."

She nods, "It's okay. It's normal they ask for that, I'm their daughter." she stops and looks at the wall in front of her, thinking. She licks her lips and speaks again, "Tom, you remember when we were little? And I told you my parents weren't my parents? That I was adopted."

"Yeah. And then I told you I had two dads."

"Yes." she takes a moment before she continues, "Remember the woman I told you about? The social worker?" the brunet nods, not so sure where this whole conversation is going, "That woman... was vice-principal Paige."

Thomas' eyes widen after a moment, completely shocked, "Wha- _what_?"

Teresa nods, "She used to be a social worker. Disciplined, tough, but kind. I guess the same she is now. You know my story, Tom. I don't know anything about my birth parents, I don't have anything from them. Just my name. My birth name."

"Deedee." said Thomas nodding.

She nods too, "Yeah. During the entire time I spent in the system, the only person who stayed at my side was her." she smiles, "She would always visit me, no matter where I was. I was great," her smile falls, "But then I got adopted. I was never lucky with foster parents, you know? One time, one of my foster parents hit me so hard he broke my nose. I spent one week with miss Paige on her house. It was like a dream." she looks at the brunet,

"My parents never yelled at me or hit me. They were good people. But I didn't needed people. I needed parents. They were-" she corrects herself, "are workaholics. That's why it didn't mattered if I came here. They knew it would be better to be somewhere else but with people who care about me than back home but alone while they worked."

Thomas grabs her hand, caressing it. He knew she had a complicated relationship with her parents. It was different from him. Even if his dads worked too much, they still had time for him.

She lets out a dry chuckle, "There was a time when I was little that I thought even if I got adopted, that when I turned eighteen I would go and live with miss Paige." she blinks away the tears, "I was too naive."

Thomas licks his lips, looking at his friend. He opens his mouth to say something else but a knock on the door startles them both. The nurse from before is at the door,

"I'm sorry, but two men are looking for Thomas? Is that you?"

He nods and the nurse leaves. Thomas turns to look back at Teresa and finds her looking back at him, smiling softly,

"Go. I'll be fine,"

"I know you'll be." he kisses her hand and leaved the room.

He walked back to the waiting room where everyone was. Before he arrived at the place, he saw his dads sitting beside Minho, talking between them. Once they saw him, they sprout up and ran to him, engulfing him in a tight hug. Stiles hugging him while Derek hugged both of them.

_"Thomas!"_

"Pops, I'm fi--" but instead of telling them he was fine, that they mustn't worry about him, he returned the hug, gripping tighter at his back.

He had been scared. Scared that he wouldn't find Teresa or that he would find her... but not alive. Scared that he might get trapped in the building. Scared about not being able to say goodbye to his parents, to his friends, to Newt. So now, he could rest a little, in the arms of his dads.

Inside Teresa's room, she and Aris were talking.

Teresa sighs, "It's getting pretty late, you know? You should go back to your house before your mom kills you." she joked.

"Yeah." he frowns, "Wait. You're not going to stay in the hospital alone, right?"

"Well... the place where I used to live was caught in fire so I can't go back, at least not now. And I'm bed chained until I can move more freely. Also they won't let me leave if I don't have a place to sleep, so yeah."

"You can stay with me." said Aris, "I don't have a spare room, but I can, you know... I'll sleep in the floor. I would say we can share but I don't want to hurt you." she smiles at him, "But I'll have to ask my parents, and they might be a little headstrong when it comes to unexpected guests." Teresa arches an eyebrow, "Not because it's you, they love you, you know that! But that's another person to take care of, more food and especial care, and--

"She can stay at my place."

Both Aris and Teresa turned to look at the Asian, who was standing with his arms crossed over his chest over the door. They didn't heard him arrive. Teresa opened her mouth but nothing came out. She tried again,

"Y-you don't have to--

"I want to. I have an extra room, Thomas uses it all the time. I'll just have to deny his entrance, that's all." he walks towards her bed.

Aris looks at Teresa out of the corner of his eyes, inspecting her reactions.

"If it isn't too much of a bother..."

He shakes his head, "But I'll have to go and change the sheets and prepare everything. So you'll have to stay here tonight. Tomorrow you can move in."

Teresa smiles, "Thanks." he nods, smiling too. They stare at each other for a few more seconds, "B-but that means I'll stay here alone tonight, right? I mean, I'm not a little girl who needs someone to stay with her but it would help."

Aris spoke, "I'll stay. Let me just text my folks and I'll be back."

Teresa nods, "Okay,"

Aris stands up and takes out his phone, exiting the room and dialing a number. Inside the room Minho and Teresa were in silence, the Asian looking at the window, the clock on the wall, the ground, and Teresa looking at the door, waiting for Aris to return. She was feeling very conscious of the Asian boy beside her bed, near her feet. She looks at him, finding him looking out of the window,

"Thank you." he turns to look her, "Really, thank you."

"What are friends for?"

She smiled timidly. _'Yeah. Friends.'_

 

* * *

 

After convincing everyone that Teresa was fine and that she only needed to rest, everyone reluctantly left the hospital. Thomas promised to come tomorrow. Minho told her he would come for her (since he had again his car) after he had the bedroom in order.

Later that night Teresa and Aris were over the raven girl's room, playing poker over her bed. They were sitting indian style at each side of the bed; Teresa at the headboard and the lighter brunet at the feet, facing her. In the middle were some Ritz Crackers on a pile, and a package of the same beside them.

"I'll raise you four more," he said tossing two crackers into the center pile.

Teresa looks up from her cards at him, "You know, you really are better than I remember. You're just as good as me in this."

"Yeah, maybe after you get better we can go to a casino and make us rich."

"Vegas, _baby_!"

"Yeah!" they started laughing. When the laughter subsided, it was Aris' turn to look up from his cards at the raven girl. He took a moment before launching the question,

"So... are you gonna tell me what happened that made you leave school and go to your apartment?"

Teresa looks up at her friend. _'Okay. If that's how you're gonna play, it takes two to tango and you know it, Aris.'_

"I'll tell you if you tell me what's with you and Gally."

"What?"

She puts her cards down, "You heard me. Spill the beans, Aris. Come on," he shakes his head, "Ugh, come on! Aren't we friends? Friend's are supposed to tell you everything! Besides, it's not like you two slept together, right?" she said with a snort at the end.

Aris bite his lip, looking at anything but her. Teresa's smile fell, _"Right?"_ she asked again as the lighter brunet looked up but still not at her, putting down the cards and playing with his fingers, "Aris?" she stared at him playing with his fingers. He always did that when he was nervous. It was kind of a tic. "Aris, _wha-_ Aris." Dear God, have mercy on her. Have mercy on him, "Wha- _what happened?_ I mean, not that I want to know how you guys had sex or anything- I mean... _how_?"

Aris looks at his cards over the bed as if choosing if he should tell her or not. He choose the first option, "It was the end of 9th grade. Remember I sent you a letter telling you there was going to be a great party and that I was deciding if I should go?" she nods, "You told me to do it, so I went. I didn't knew all the people there but in a party who does, right? And since I was friends with Gally I decided to stay by his side, in case something happened." he swallows and licks his lips,

"So at this guy's party, I don't even remember his name, we started talking. We both were laughing at seeing some guys dancing drunk but when they stopped and we didn't find anything else to entertain ourselves, we started talking. And we drank, what else you expect in a party..." he snorts, "And... And one thing lead to another and we... we hook up."

He made a pause not for Teresa to interrupt, but for himself. She knew that.

"The next morning when I woke up, he was gone. I thought he might be at the bathroom or at the kitchen but he wasn't. There were many people still sleeping but he wasn't there. It made me feel like a cheap whore, Teresa."

_"Aris..."_ she bites her lip, "D-Did he tried to apologize? Explain to you why?"

"No. Not even once. So I swallowed my pride and tried to call him. He didn't answer. I texted him, he didn't text back. I even went to his freaking house but his mom told me he wasn't home."

"And what if he wasn't really there?"

"Oh, come on, T! That's a typical elusive tactic!"

"But still... aren't you over reacting? What if he freaked out and didn't knew what to do? What if, I don't know! Anything!"

Aris turns to look at her, his face red, "My parents found out I had unprotected sex and that's why I had to move, Teresa!"

The raven girl was flabbergasted, "Wha-why? What? Why would they do that-" her eyes widen, "Don't tell me you-" she sends a look at his flat stomach.

"No, fucking Christ, no! I would never see the outside if _that_ were the case." she lets out a relieved sigh, "It was because it was unprotected and I could get either pregnant or an STD. And before you ask, it was neither of those, thank you very much."

"But how did your parents found out?"

"When I went to buy the morning after pill at the drug store... I ran into my mother. She saw what I was buying and she figured out the rest."

"Oh, Aris,"

"My step-father had a job offer here, at Beacon Hills. So after that incident, my mom decided that I had being irresponsible, so she and my step-father decided to move out. Kill two birds with one stone," his eyes looked like he wanted to cry, but she didn't knew the reason why.

"So that's why you're so bittersweet with him? Because of that?" she just continues to look at him, "Aris, you need to tell him how you feel. Maybe it wasn't his intention-

"Whose side are you?!" his face was red, "I- don't wanna talk about this, okay? I'll take these hard feelings to the tomb, so don't worry." with the heel of his hand he rubs his eyes, and with the other he grabs a cracker and eats it, "What about you? Why did you ran yesterday?"

It Teresa's turn to bite her lips, looking at her hands. She needed to tell him. She needed to tell someone.

"I, uh... I ran because of... because of Minho."

"Why? Did he said or did something to you? Because if he did the police are going to find him over the river and-

Teresa chuckles, "No, no. Nothing like that. He didn't... he didn't do anything. I..." she looks up for a moment, "I was at the bathroom and heard some girls talking. Talking about me." something in Aris' eye harden, "They, uh, said I wasn't feminine enough and that... Guys wouldn't look at me because of that and stuff like that."

"Those bitches,"

Teresa closes her eyes, trying not to laugh, "Yeah. They also said I didn't stand a chance with any guy."

Aris' hand is now a fist, gripping tight at his pants. Stopping a moment to think he frowns, "I don't understand. What does that has to do with Minho?" Teresa looks at the window, admiring the moon, "Teresa?" she doesn't turn around, just keeps admiring the outside as Aris frowns in confusion, "Are you...?" a tear slides down her cheek and she quickly wipes it away. He understands, "Teresa, it's normal to feel that way for someone, you know?"

"Then why do I feel like this?" her voice was broken.

"Because he has a girlfriend." she looks at the front, tears falling, "And because he's your friend and you feel like you've betrayed that friendship by feeling something else."

"But you know what? Love is wonderful."

"Says who?"

"Says everyone." he grabs her hands, "You deserve love as much as anyone else in this world. And maybe it isn't with Minho, or maybe it will. Who knows? What matters is that you don't give up on it. Lock those bitches out and remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent."

Teresa smiles between tears, "Eleanor Roosevelt said that."

"Ah, yes. Another special lady just like you." they look at each other smiling. Beside Thomas, Aris was probably the other person who understood her. She was glad she had a friend like him. He lets go of her hands and they compose themselves, "Now let's get back at the game, I think I was wining." he says while grabbing his cards.

Teresa grabs her cards, "Yeah, keep dreaming, pretty boy."

 

* * *

 

Early the next day at the hospital, Minho was walking towards Teresa's room with a box of donuts on hand. He remembered the food the nurse made him eat while he was at the hospital; he did not wanted that for Teresa. So he brought donuts for her and Aris. The lighter brunet must be hungry too. He reached the door and after a moment, he opened the door. He entered the room like it was nothing and _are you kidding me?_

Teresa was lying on the bed, face peaceful as she slept. With the open curtains, her hair looked like it was made of silk, flowing over the pillow and right at her shoulders. Her face seemed like porcelain, not even the butterfly stitch on her temple ruined that. Her eyelashes looked thicker than they normally do, softly touching her cheeks. Her bottom lip wasn't swollen anymore, instead letting see plump pink lips. She had her hands over the pit of her stomach, one gracefully over the other. Her chest went up and down with every breath she took.

He didn't move. He _couldn't_ move. He didn't knew why he couldn't. He stood there, admiring the raven girl until he was startled by someone patting at his back. He turned around and found a nurse with a cart full of flowers.

"I'm sorry, didn't meant to startle you." she apologized.

"No, it was my fault." he glances back at Teresa and then at the nurse, "Sorry. Come in," she enters the room with the cart. He notices that there are several flowers: roses, orchids, carnations, lilies, sunflowers, tulips, gerberas, etc. They were all beautiful bouquets.

Looking around he just noticed Aris wasn't there. He glanced at the bathroom door and found it open, so where was he?

"Excuse me, do you know where's the guy who stayed here last night?"

"He must be at the cafeteria."

Minho nodded at her and she returned to her job. He turned towards the door, ready to leave in search for the lighter brunet. The nurse picks up the one with orchids and went to the left side of Teresa's bed, right towards the cabinet with wheels.

Minho saw the bouquet she had and spoke, "She's allergic to orchids." the nurse stops, "Put the sunflowers by her bed. They're her favorites,"

The nurse nods. She turns to the cart to grab the other flower arrangement and puts it on the cabinet. She leaves, passing by Minho at the door. The Asian looks back at the girl on the bed and leaves.

Seconds later, Teresa starts opening her eyes slowly and turns her head to the left, her tired eyes falling over the sunflower bouquet, making her smile at the sight of them.

Minho went to the cafeteria and found Aris there, near a trash can as he threw away a soda can. As he approached him, the lighter brunet noticed him,

"Hey, you fell from your bed?"

Minho laughed, "Yeah, kind of. How did it went last night?"

Aris leaned over the nearest wall, "Pretty well. I won her a package of crackers on a poker game." the Asian chuckles, "What brings you here?"

"I brought these." he says holding up the donuts box, "I thought you might need them."

"We do." he takes them, "You wanna join us? I'm sure Teresa will be glad to see you." he said smiling in a rather weird way. Like he knew something Minho didn't.

He scratches his neck, "No, I, eh... Have things to do, you know? But I'll come back in the afternoon, so tell her that, yes?" Aris nodded, "Thanks. I have to go now. See ya," he waved at him and turned around, walking towards the exit.

Aris went straight back at the room. He looked at the donuts box and chuckled, _'I would totally fall for someone who brought me a box of donuts while in the hospital.'_ he thought just as he approached the room. He barely enters the room when he finds Teresa already awake, sitting on the bed with her back resting on the pillows. She turns to look at him as he enters the room,

"Hey, you're awake." he sits in the chair beside the bed, putting the box over his lap, "How are you feeling?"

She smiles, "Better. Thank you," the lighter brunet opens the box ([x](http://36.media.tumblr.com/43fe462b7430e85eda054afa3126247c/tumblr_nizzb66UgC1t0jj16o1_1280.jpg)) and takes out a donut, "You brought donuts, how kind of you." she stretches a hand over the box and grabs one too.

"Actually, they're from Minho."

She blinks a few times, "He was here?"

Aris nodded as he chewed, "He went to the cafeteria to find me, but he had to leave. He said he had to finish arraigning your room." Teresa feels the corners of her mouth going up at hearing those words. "Did you just smile because I said he said 'your room'?"

She covers her mouth with the donut, hiding her smile, "... _No_."

 

* * *

 

At noon, Aris was at the library, arranging the books into their respective bookshelf, with a wheeled cart beside him. There had been a few weeks where he had helped Teresa with her work, so he decided to work at the library too. Teresa's boss had also taken a certain liking of him, and insisted in Aris working there too. And as the raven girl was at the hospital, he was helping with her turn, staying a little later than usual.

He pushed the cart with himself, moving to the next shelf. There was a wooden ladder at one side of one bookshelf. As he eyed the books, something caught his eyes and he frowned, grabbing a book from the shelf and taking it out,

" _Romeo and Juliet_. What are you doing in the 'Comedy' section?" he looks around and sees the bookshelf with the 'Tragedy' label, "There you are." he climbs the ladder and searches for the serial number. He found it. Four spaces from where he was in the ladder. He was so close yet far. Reaching on his tip toes, he stretched his arm over the four spaces on the left, trying to reach the empty space and put the book on his hand there.

"Come on, cooperate with me!"

Stretching a little more, he didn't felt the ladder following his body position, leaning to the left and supporting him in just one wooden leg.

"Just... a little... closer..." the book was touching the space, so he leaned forward and pushed it in, but being in tip toes over the ladder's edge made the ladder tremble and fall on the left. Aris yelled as he felt gravity doing its job, bringing him down with the ladder. His body was expecting the dull pain in hitting the ground but instead of falling onto the ground--

\--he fell right into Gally's arms. The light brunet looks around him and then at his rescuer.

"Is this a big habit of yours? Falling off stuff?" asks in a mocking tone the tall blonde.

"If there's someone I trust to catch me, yeah. But today's not my lucky day, it seems."

Before the dirty blonde can respond to that, the sound of heels was quickly heard and they turned their heads to look at Aris' boss. She was walking to the door but stopped at spotting them. She made her way to them and stood there, staring.

They didn't knew what she was staring at until she raised an eyebrow, looking from head to toe at them and that's when it hit Aris. He was still in Gally's arms, bridal-style. Gally was carrying him in the middle of his work. In front of his boss.

He pushed his way out and off of that strong vice-like grip, fortunately, Gally had reacted too and let go of him, and Aris stood still, looking at his boss.

She bite her lip, "Ok. I'm not going to ask 'cus I have an important meeting and I don't wanna be late. Mr. Jones, once the hour is done you are free to go but next time don't bring your boyfriend to work. I don't want you to get distract." she turns around and starts walking to the door.

Both Gally's and Aris' faces turn red at that comment; Gally is the first in react, _"What?"_

Aris goes and follows his boss, "No, no, no! He isn't-

"Okay, he can stay but only if you two don't make out in here, okay?" she looks at her watch, "Uh, I need to leave. Keep working hard!" and with that she leaves.

_"But-!"_ he sighs in defeat, and looks at Gally out of the corner of his eyes. He grabs the books of the cart and walks towards the next bookshelf, with Gally following him, "What are you doing here?"

The dirty blonde scratches the back of his head, "I wanted to see if you were fine."

"I am. Anything else?"

Gally rolls his eyes, "I meant, if you're okay with what happened with Teresa. I know she's your best friend and with all that happened I thought-

The lighter brunet smashes the books on the shelf hard and turns to look at him with a frown, "What, Gally? You thought that you could simple ask if I was fine and then I'll say 'fine, thanks for worrying' and then everything would go back to normal?"

Now it was time for Gally to frown, "Why are you being such a jerk!" he yelled. Aris stood there, staring at him, "Sorry, sorry, I..." he groans, "I didn't mean-

"No. I think you meant exactly what you said." he walks around the tall blond, grabbing another book, "Now if you excuse me, I have to finish."

He turned around and continued with his work, ignoring the tall blonde. Gally stood there for another full minute before turning around his heel, walking back to the door and leaving the library. Aris stood still, looking at the bookshelf as he calmed down himself; he blinked a few times before looking down at the book on his hand and reading aloud what it had written,

" _'A great tragedy'_ , huh? I get those." and he continued.

 

* * *

 

The next day over Newt's house, the blonde was at the living room, sitting on the couch as Allison sat on the other side, reading calmly a book wearing glasses. Andrew was at the kitchen making breakfast. He was wearing an apron and had a towel over his shoulder.

"Okay. Who's up for some eggs Benedict?"

Allison looked up from her book, "I want mine with bacon, darling."

"And I want mine with ham, please." said Newt.

"Oh! And can you tea or hot cocoa over the microwave, please?" asked the brunet woman.

"For you anything." she smiles and sends him a kiss. He catches it in the air and puts it in his pocket, smiling at her. Newt just rolls his eyes at them but smiles too. As Andrew turns around, ready to go towards the microwave he groans, "Agh! Bloody hell!" he turns to look at his wife, "I forgot, the microwave oven is still malfunctioning."

Allison takes off her glasses, "What? I thought you called someone to repair it."

"I did. The repair guy's supposed to come today between 12:00 and 3:00." he turns to look at the clock, "I have a meeting in an hour, can you be here for that?"

"Can I sit around in an empty house and wait for someone? Honey, I'm a realtor. I have a license for that." she said with a smile. Andrew smiled back at her and continued cooking.

In that moment the doorbell rang. Newt looked at his parents.

"I'll go get it."

He stood up from the couch as his mom said 'thank you' and went towards the door. When he opened it, he was surprised to see Thomas standing there,

"Tommy."

The other waved, "Hey,"

Newt looks back inside and exits the house, closing the door behind him, "Hey, what's up?" they walk away from the door, "Is it Teresa? She's fine?"

"No, no, she's fine. She's fine,"

"Are you fine?"

Something moved inside his chest at hearing the worry in the blonde's voice, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." he scratches the back of his head, "I, eh, was actually here to talk to you about something else."

"Oh. Okay." he crosses his arms in front of his chest, "What is it you wanna talk about?"

Thomas takes a moment to breath, opening and closing his hands. He looks right at the blonde's face.

"I want to ask you out. Again. I-I know last time you said 'yes' and it made me so damn happy," Newt smiles, "but then I screwed it up by being a jerk and I know I don't deserve another chance since you deserve better than me and I-" he stops to take air, "I just... needed to know. If you would give it a try."

Newt stares at him, licking his lips -a motion Thomas tries to ignore- and then chuckles, "You're such a dork, Tommy." he smiles, "but that's why I'm going to say yes."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be on Thursday and I'm sure you don't wanna miss it ;)


	21. Of Dates, Movie Nights & Pizza

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! The chapter I think you all have been waiting for (aside from the sex, obvi)! Newtmas' date (OFFICIAL date)! Lets give them all of our love!  
> Sorry I couldn't upload it yesterday, I was so busy that I didn't even touched my laptop!

_"One can begin so many things with a new person- Even begin to be a better man." -George Eliot._

 

The weekend had passed fairly quick. Teresa was much better now, but she was still living with Minho as she hadn't found a new place to live. Minho didn't seemed to mind and nor Teresa. Thomas was grounded for the weekend for going to the building on fire, even if it was for a good action. Though, he slept on the couch with his dad on Friday and on Sunday morning his pops appeared on his bed, holding him tight. Thomas and Newt still talked over the phone and send messages.

Over school, Newt was taking out some books from his locker when a single flower peeked over his head. He looked up and then turned around, facing Thomas.

"Hey, there."

He smiled while accepting the flower, "Hey," then looked at the clock over the wall, "You're barely on time. Less than 5 minutes for the bell to ring."

Thomas scratches the back of his head, "Yeah, I, uh, feel asleep."

"Busy day?" asks Newt as he turns to his locker.

"Busy week. Also I've been thinking about our date."

Newt smiled, still looking at his locker, "Oh, is that so?" he closed his locker, turning to the brunet, "Where are we going?"

Thomas grinned, "It's a surprise."

Newt raised an eyebrow at him but let it happen, "Okay, I'll bite."

"You tell me at what time and day; I'll take care of the rest. You just tell me and I'll go and pick you up at your house."

"Okay. What about Saturday? Six o'clock?"

Thomas nods, "Saturday. Six o'clock."

The bell rings. Newt nods too smiling, "Saturday." and turns around, walking away towards his class.

Thomas stayed there, happily looking at the blonde's behind as he walked away, "Saturday." he repeated as he smiled; then he went to the other side of the hall chanting "Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday..."

Over PE class he was the same, while he and Minho were doing abdominals he kept repeating,

"Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday," with each abdominal.

Over classes, as the teacher wrote something over the board, Thomas kept tapping the floor with his feet as he quietly repeated,

"Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday,"

At Minho's apartment, as the Asian was doing homework over his room, Thomas was at his own room; he was laying on his back over his bed, his arms behind his head as a pillow and looking happily at the ceiling,

"Saturday, Saturday, Saturday, Saturday-

Minho's angry voice came from the other side, _"Say 'Saturday' again and you ain't gonna see Sunday!"_

 

* * *

 

The next day at lunch, Minho and Teresa were walking outside the cafeteria looking for Thomas as he hadn't been at lunch. They thought he was with Newt but when they searched for the blonde and found him on Art class, he told them he hadn't seen him. As they walked, Minho spoke out of the blue,

"Do you think NASA invented thunderstorms to cover up the sound of space battles?"

Teresa looks at him as he's crazy but then bites her lip, looking up for a moment. As she goes to open her mouth and answer him, a guy runs beside her, pushing her slightly and interrupting her. They watch him run at the other side of the building and then hear some students cheering and shouting.

"What's that?" looking at each other and nodding, they follow the cheers and yells from the students.

As they walk, they see a group of students standing in a circle-like crowd. Arriving at the scene and hearing groans coming from the center, they passed between the people, murmuring 'excuse us' to them. Finally when they arrived at the center, they found Thomas and Garrett fighting, fists meeting face, stomach and other body parts. Garrett was breathing heavily, he had a black eye, a cut on his cheek and the same were tomato red. Thomas himself had a cut on his lip that was starting to get swollen, his cheeks were also red and he was taking smalls mouths of air. Both Teresa and Minho in that instant went and grabbed Thomas from the floor, as the brunet was about to hit the other guy.

Teresa turned to look at Garrett, " _HEY!_ What the hell is your problem?"

Garrett grins, wiping the sweat of his forehead, "Oh, tomboy girl has come to the rescue." some of his followers laughed.

"I don't need anyone to help me kick your ass!" spat Thomas poisonously as he was being restrained by Minho, who had both arms encircling Thomas' arm under the armpit, -much like Nelson's hold-, and Teresa's hand over his chest to keep him calm.

"Really? 'Cause she seems to come here just in the right moment or you would be knocked out. Come on, you need her to help you with your fights, Hale?" he chuckles, "I think she has more balls than you have." his friends laugh at that. Teresa girths her teeth and launches herself with a grunt at Garrett, only to be stopped by Minho and Thomas grabbing her by the waist. Garrett takes a step back afraid as she struggled to get free, he then smirks, "Wow, the lioness has claws. I like it."

_"What is going on in here?"_ they heard a voice behind them and all the students turned around to see Principal Janson standing right behind all the commotion. Some students flee the scene, and while he approached the center, the rest ran too. Only Garrett, his friends, Thomas, Minho and Teresa were left, "Fighting at school property?" he made a _'tsk tsk'_ sound with his tongue while shaking his head.

He approached Garrett, passing beside Thomas and his friends and grabbed Garrett's face, looking at his wounds. He let go of it harshly, "Go to the infirmary and get the nurse to check those wounds." he nodded and with his friends they left to the infirmary. Janson then began walking away but the brunet's voice stopped him.

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern." said Thomas, cleaning his now swollen lip.

Janson turned to look at him and walked closer, "You don't get to talk, Hale. How I don't know you started all of this?"

"He started-

_"Don't interrupt me when I'm talking!"_ he yelled at Thomas' face, making the brunet grab Teresa's hand as a support, "You're always making trouble, not matter how big or little it is. You're always there."

"Maybe it's just bad luck." said Thomas grinning.

The Principal's face turned red but before he could say or do anything else, a voice calling his name made them all turn to look at that person, _"Principal Janson."_ it was the vice-principal Paige, walking slowly but firm towards them, "A couple is at your office, waiting for you. The say it's important."

Janson girthed his teeth and looked at Thomas one last time before pointing at him with his finger threateningly, "Listen to me, you little punk. One more thing coming from you, and you'll wish you'd never been born. Are we clear?"

"Crystal."

Janson adjusted his tie before leaving. Thomas' eyes followed him until he was gone. Ugh, how he hated that guy! Immersed in his thoughts, he flinched when he felt a pair of hands touching his face until he noticed it was the vice-principal's hands.

"Sorry." he muttered.

She smiled at him and then turned to his friends, "Please take Mr. Hale to the infirmary." Minho and Teresa nodded. Minho patted the brunet's back as they walked away, telling him that both Garrett and Janson were jackasses. _'Good that'_ said Thomas.

 

* * *

 

Arriving home, Thomas slowly closed the door, trying not to do too much noise. He didn't wanted his pops to see him like that and ask what happened. He walked towards the stairs and tried to make his way to his bedroom and stay there but as his foot touched the first step, a throat cleared behind him. He froze. Gulping, he turned his head around and found the most terrifying thing he could ask for.

_BOTH_ his dads standing over the dining room together; his dad with his arms crossed in front of his chest and his pops with his hands on his hips, looking- glaring at him. _Bad sign, bad sign!_

Taking his foot off of the step and turning his whole body to face his parents, Thomas smiles, "Hey, pops. Dad, you're early." they didn't even blinked, "So, is dinner ready 'cus I'm starving, if you know what I-

Derek cuts him, "Your principal called."

The first thing that went through Thomas' mind was _'Shit.'_

"He said you were in a fight." ended Stiles.

"It wasn't my fault! Garrett, he-

"Did he started it? He hit you first?"

"No, but he-

"Then how it isn't your fault?"

"He provoked me!"

"So you say that a fight isn't a fight if the other party provokes you?"

"No, pops! Don't put my words out of context! I-

Derek uncrosses his arms, "Go to your room, Thomas. You're grounded all weekend."

Thomas' eyes widen. No. It can't be! "But I have plans-

"To stay in your room all weekend." finishes Stiles.

Thomas looks between his two dads and when they didn't said anything he groaned angry. He went upstairs sulking, muttering thing between _'this is so unfair'_ , _'uncle Peter is right; life sucks'_. He didn't came downstairs to have dinner.

Night came and Thomas hadn't come out of his room. He was lying on his back over his bed, looking at the ceiling and throwing a baseball at the air. Catching it one more time, he sat and stood up from his bed, walking to the door. He rested his head over the door and tried to hear what was going on outside. It was quite. Maybe his dads were asleep. Nodding to himself, he putted on a hoodie and rustled his bed sheets, making it looks like he was underneath them. He turned off the lights and went to his window.

Putting a foot outside, he slowly climbed down his window and landed on the ground, looking around to verify that no one had saw him. It was clear. Good. He started running away from there, in case a neighbor saw him.

 

* * *

 

Thomas was walking over the street, hands inside his jeans pockets and sometimes kicking the pebbles on the ground. He must been out for like an hour, since his legs weren't that tired. His stomach growled but he ignored it; he just wanted to walk and clear his mind. It was unfair that his dads grounded him and he couldn't have his date with Newt. He wanted to choke someone! He had been waiting for this so long and now that chance is gone. He has yet to tell Newt about it. Would he be sad? Would he care?

He hadn't noticed he had walk in direction of a certain street. He kept walking, kicking the ground with his shoes when at the distance he faintly heard ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkCYMhAr-_0)) a guitar and then a voice,

 

_Moon River, wider than a mile,_ \- He looked around, trying to find the owner of that voice, although his heart knew. He walked towards a familiar big house, and there, he found Newt sitting over the window seat, his right leg dangling outside over the open window. He had a guitar and was slowly playing it, looking at the sky.

_Oh, dream maker, you heart breaker,_ \- Thomas smiled, looking at him. His accent make that song sound better, and wow, his fingers dancing in each accord. He was wearing a little big grey sweater, long navy pants and black flats. He looked utterly stunning. Like always.

 

_Two drifters off to see the world_ \- Newt turned to look at his guitar as he sang, closing his eyes as the notes came. His hair seemed to bright even more with the moon rays, as cheesy as that sound. Thomas felt he was being dragged by that voice, walking towards the house, still not being detected by the blonde.

_We're after the same rainbow's end_ \- The blonde looked down briefly, so Thomas had to hide behind a tree. He didn't wanted to be found 'cus he didn't wanted Newt to stop singing for anything in the world. Still hiding, he peeked and saw the blonde's peaceful face as he said _'My Huckleberry friend'_ , looking at the nothing.

_Moon River and me_

 

The song came to an end, as Newt sighed. He looked down at where Thomas was moments ago. Out of nowhere he smiled and entered his room, closing the window. As the lights on his bedroom came off, Thomas came out of his hide and stared at the window just for a few more seconds. He smiled and walked back to where he had come. He couldn't remember what he was mad about and why he ended up here but he was glad he did.

 

* * *

 

The next day in the morning at the Hale house had a tense atmosphere. Stiles and Thomas were at the kitchen counter on opposite sides. Stiles was eating scrambled eggs with ham and bread, while the younger brunet was moving his cereal with a spoon, not really interested in eating it.

Derek made his appearance, his hair still wet from the shower, "Morning," he said as he entered the kitchen, walking behind his husband.

Stiles smiled, "Good morning," he answered as Derek leaned to kiss his lips, and then went to the fridge for some juice. Stiles looked back at his son, who hadn't even looked up, " _'Morning, dad.'_ "

"Morning, dad." repeated in a monotonous tone Thomas, not even looking away from his bowl.

Derek and Stiles looked at each other, and then the older brunet cleared his throat, "So... was it that important for you to go out this weekend?"

"Yes,"

"Well... Your dad and I were talking. And we want you to know that what you did was wrong," Thomas rolled his eyes, "But we think that... if you're that bumped for missing going out on the weekend... then it must be really important."

Thomas let go of his spoon. Was he hearing what he thought he was?

"So, we decided that you can go out this weekend-" Thomas started smiling, "But you'll be grounded next weekend."

"Yes! Yes! I'll be grounded and I'll even help you with your school things!" he hugged his parents, "Thank you! Thank you!"

"Now go and finish your homework."

"Yes, sir!" he yelled running towards the stairs.

"Don't be a smartass, young man." reproached Derek.

_"Sorry, sir!"_ they heard the brunet yell from his room before the door closed.

 

* * *

 

Saturday came very quick. Over Newt's house, Teresa was helping the blonde to pick up the right outfit for the date. Newt was standing in front of the mirror in his bedroom, looking at his reflection and frowning; pulling his shirt off. He drops it on the floor next to the other seven which have already gathered there in a pile.

"Oh, if only Tom could see this..." says Teresa. She's sitting on the bed, reading a magazine with her back at him.

The blonde rolled his eyes, "Teresa, please. I need something to wear and excuse me for being nervous."

Turning a page, she looks at him, "Tell me, how did you did it when he asked you out the first time? You know, before all of this."

"I don't know, I just... I didn't felt like it was too much of a deal, you know." he shrugs, but then groans, "I-I don't know, just help me!" he goes to sit on the bed edge huffing.

Teresa uncrosses her legs and stands up, walking towards the closet, "You know, if I had your legs and were going to a date with a guy I really, _really_ like..." she starts searching through the closet and finds what she was looking for, "I'd wear this baby." she says holding up a skinny tight jeans up so the blonde can see them, "You'll kill in it."

Newt chuckles and covers his face with his hands; Teresa approaches him, still holding the jeans "You know... Tom won't care what you wear. He'll still look at you like you're the most beautiful thing in the world." the blonde peeks out through his fingers, "He already thinks that, so..."

"Thanks for the help."

"Well, you did ask for it. Strange as you should ask your other friends for help instead of me. Not that I mind helping you, you know. You didn't told Gally or Alby about the date?"

Newt stood, "Nah, Alby said he was studying with Ben, and Gally..." he turns to look at the raven girl, "I actually don't know where he is."

"Probably hiding from Aris."

"What's with them, anyways?"

She shakes her head, "Nothing. Kids things. Once he's ready, he'll tell you. I'm pretty sure," she says giving him a smile, "Now, going back with your clothes..."

 

* * *

 

Over Minho's apartment, it was kind of the same scene. Thomas was pacing around the Asian's room while his best friend was over his bed, writing something down on a magazine. He was solving a crossword puzzle. The brunet was trying clothes that he had brought in a bag from his house (as he didn't wanted his dads to know about the date).

"Okay, how about this one?" asks Thomas for like the 101th time.

Minho looks up from his magazine and at his friend. He was wearing a green plain shirt, washed jeans and sneakers.

"I don't know. That color is like puke green." Thomas curses and takes off his shirt, "I was joking, man."

"No! You're right, it's puke green. Ugh! Why do they make shirts with puke color? What's wrong with people? Nobody wants to wear puke,"

"I wonder if Teresa is doing better than me." mutters Minho to himself. He shrugs and continues writing as Thomas changes clothes, "2 horizontal, 12 letters. Thermoplastic polymer consisting of long hydrocarbon chain." he chuckles, "Oh, you think you're so smart, don't you Mister Kwan from New Jersey?" he says as he writes down the answer.

He hears Thomas clear his throat, so he looks up. Thomas was wearing a powder blue sweaters with a button-up shirt, khakis and brown shoes, and his hair comb behind. Minho almost scrawls the puzzle but then blinks a few times. Thomas looks at himself and then at his best friend,

"It's nice, right?"

"Yeah... If you're selling Bibles." the brunet groans, "Dude, chill out, okay?" and returns to write on the magazine.

Thomas huffs and ruffles his hair, making it messy. Minho hears him fighting to take off the sweater and removing his shoes, kicking them to the other side of the room. While ruffling through his bag, something caught Thomas' eyes. He took out some black tight jeans with black leather suspenders. Turning around while holding them he asked, "What's this?"

Minho smiles, "Oh, I fixed your jeans."

Thomas holds them by the suspenders, "I won't spend $100 on a date so Newt can get dinner with a _stripper!_ " he throws the jeans to the floor.

"Like he won't like it." Thomas glares at him, "Okay, okay! Joking! Geez," the brunet turns to his bag and searches for another thing. Minho stays there, looking at his puzzle when something buzzes on his mind, "You're going to spent $100 on a date?"

Thomas lets his head fall over the clothes on the bag, "Oh my god, you're right! I'm such a shit! What am I thinking?!"

"Have an aneurysm, why don't you?"

 

* * *

 

Newt was currently looking at his reflection on the mirror over the bathroom. Teresa had left 10 minutes ago, and he was alone at his house. His parents were out and weren't coming back until night. Perfect timing. He was wearing a gray button down shirt, black jeans and Converse. Teresa had said he looked good and that Thomas would love it. Looking at the mirror, he knew she was right.

The doorbell rang and he went to the door, ready to open it. He took a moment, to check that he had everything with him and then opened the door.

Thomas was standing there, wearing a dark blue shirt with a leather jacket, jeans and brown leather ankle boots. Thomas stared at him, looking from head to toe, " _Wow_ , you look... I mean, _wow_ , you- you look..."

Newt chuckled, closing the door behind him, "You look _'wow'_ too, Tommy." they started walking toward the brunet's motorbike, "So? Where to?"

Thomas smiled, still looking at the front, "You see, I am in quite of a dilemma over here."

"Oh yeah?" Newt asks, his lips automatically turning into a smile, "What's your dilemma?"

The brunet shrugs, "Whether you'd appreciate a fancy four-star restaurant which serves a tiny bit of food on a huge plate, or a pizza joint owned by some very nice Italians?" he stops walking once they reach the bike, turning towards the blonde, "So, Michelangelo. What's it gonna be?"

Newt grins, "You know I'll never say no to pizza."

"Good," Thomas laughs, "’Cause I didn't make a reservation at a fancy restaurant." he said chuckling.

The blonde looks at him with wide eyes, "You didn't?" he lets out a chuckle, "Then what if I had chosen the restaurant?"

"Let's just say I knew that you wouldn't." he took out an extra helmet and gave it to Newt. They hopped on the bike and drove away.

 

* * *

 

"Okay, you two are making Avengers way gayer than they are."

Over Minho's apartment, he, Teresa and Aris were over the couch, covered in blankets and with pillows watching The Avengers. Teresa was in the middle, popcorn bowl over her lap, Aris had a soda on his hand and Minho had the controller over his side.

Aris frowns comically, "We are not!"

Minho pauses the movie, "You keep repeating how tight Capitan America's suit is, how hot Iron Man is. You keep talking about Thor's 'hammer'! And not the hammer they show you in the screen!"

"It's because if they show his other 'hammer' the movie wouldn't be classified as PG." says Teresa and covers her mouth.

Aris spits his soda and starts laughing. He quickly stands up -moving away the bowl from Teresa's lap- and goes for something to wipe the coffee table. Minho makes a mortified face and grabs a pillow, and starts hitting Teresa with it. She continued laughing and grabs another pillow too. Suddenly, they are hitting each other with pillows while laughing.

In a moment Minho launched to her, making her lay over the couch with him over her, covering her body and trying to take away the pillow. He successfully does and throws it at the floor; then he throws his next to it. They continue laughing after several seconds before staring at each other. He was over her, both her hands pressed against his chest and their eyes locked. They didn't notice as Aris came out of the bathroom with a towel on hand, standing near the kitchen and looking at the scene over the couch. He didn't said anything.

Both Minho and Teresa are breathing heavily, the Asian licks his lips the same time the raven girl bites her lips. Before she can say something she feels something vibrate over her leg. Minho quickly sits and takes out his phone out of his pockets, unlocking the screen. Teresa sits too and puts a strand of hair behind her ear. She quickly eyes Aris.

"Oh," says Minho as he stares at his phone while standing up, "Sonya texted me. Her parents let her out and she wants to meet at the Starbucks near school." he looks back at Teresa.

"It's okay." they stare at each other, "Go." he opens his mouth to say something but she cuts him, "Don't want to leave her waiting, right?"

Minho looks at Aris and back at Teresa. He grabs his car keys and a coat, walking towards the door. Stopping for a moment in front of the door with the keys on his hand, he shook his head and leave.

Seconds after he left, Aris walks back to the couch and sits beside Teresa, who has her legs up and is looking at a side, not meeting his eyes.

"Well. We have the apartment for ourselves." he grins, "Wanna mess with his hair products?"

Teresa eyes him and chuckles, turning again to the front while wrapping her body with the blanket. She feels Aris hand over hers, comforting her.

"It's fine. Who needs him? We have Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans, the only men we need."

Teresa laughs and hugs the blanket harder.

 

* * *

 

"Hahaha, really?!"

"Yeah! I'm telling you the truth!"

Thomas and Newt were at the pizza joint, sitting in one of the tables at the center while eating. Thomas was telling him a story about Minho and the tracks fields.

"So, he stopped flirting with those girls and started running. Then, out of nowhere, the coach's wife came with her dog and when the dog saw  Minho running, it chased him." Newt continued laughing, "I think Minho didn't ran faster in all his life."

"But it was just a dog."

"It was a big pitbull an it wanted to chew his ass." the blonde made his mouth in a 'o' form, "So finally, he ran towards a tree and climbed up, holding onto it like his life depended on it. The dog stopped over the tree and barked at him, jumping and try to catch Minho." he took a sip from his drink, "At the end the coach and his wife managed to grab the dog as Minho climbed down. Oh, I was laughing the entire time and wanted to take a video, haha."

"Bad Tommy!" said Newt as he grabbed another slice and ate it.

"Hey! He wasn't in real danger. The dog wasn't gonna eat him... complete." the blonde chuckled, "Well, putting aside that story and the ones you told me..." he said as he wiped his hands, "How's the pizza?"

"It's delicious. I mean this has to be one of the best pizzas I ever had."

"Told you. Now, what do you wanna talk about?"

Newt took a moment, then with a breadstick he pointed at the brunet, "Tell me your deepest fear."

Thomas looked up for a moment, as if he were thinking about the answer, "Waking up pretty early in the morning and find out there's no school that day."

"Come on, I'm serious." the blonde chuckled.

"Ok, then tell me yours." he looked down at his pizza.

"Being left alone." Thomas looked up and saw Newt looking sad, "Being alone. Since I was little, I never wanted to be alone. And I'm afraid I will be."

Thomas grabs his hand across the table, "You're not gonna be alone anymore. I promise you that." Newt smiles at him.

They arrived at Newt's house after they finished their pizza, parking the bike at a safe distance. They both hopped off and started walking towards the house. Once standing there in front of the door, they were looking at anything but the other. Thomas felt nervous. This reminded him their first date and how it ended. He gulped hard.

"So..."

"So..."

"This is it. Your house."

Newt nodded, "Yeah. My house. Where you have been before..."

"Oh, right. Sorry." still silence. How can people survive without talking to each other?!

It was Newt who broke the tension, "Why are we behaving like this? We're not gonna rob the house, or anything like that. We're just standing here, trying to say goodbye."

"I think you already did. So..." Thomas eyed his bike.

"What, no goodbye kiss?" the brunet looks at him, "It's not like we haven't kiss before."

"Well, the last time we had a date and I kissed you, you kinda stomp on my foot. Also you told me that if I ever did that again you would kick me in the crotch."

Newt smiles, "Good to know that you still remember it. But I meant 'if you try to do it again without my permission'."

"So..."

Newt chuckled, "Are you always this articulate, Tommy?"

Thomas felt nervous. His hands were sweating. _Damn it, he wasn't supposed to be nervous! It's not like he hasn't done this, you've done much more than a kiss. But this wasn't just a kiss. It was with Newt. God, now he could feel his pulse accelerating. What would Teresa say? 'Stop whining. Woman up!' something like that._

He saw Newt closing his eyes, waiting for him to do something. Okay. Thomas closed his eyes and leaned forward, just a few inches away from Newt's face. He could feel the heat radiating from the other guy and that only made him lean forward until his lips touched something soft, but it didn't felt like lips.

He had kissed the blonde's nose.

Newt chuckles, opening his eyes while Thomas had his closed, "That's my nose, genius. These are my lips," and with that, Thomas felt a pair of hands grabbing his face and bringing it closer until his lips were pressed against Newt's.

God, it felt wonderful. Just like the ones before this. But somehow while the other kisses were hot, passionate and needy, this kiss was tender, slow yet loving. Thomas didn't wanted to break away from those lips for anything in the world. Except they needed air. They separate, inches away from the other's face and looked into their eyes. Thomas saw the same spark he saw on the day of the fire. Newt's eyes were sparkling, like someone put a starry sky on those beautiful brown eyes. And his smile... his smile made Thomas want to kiss him again, but then we wouldn't be able to admire that smile.

Newt gave him a quick kiss before taking out the key from his pants. He went to open the door, still looking at Thomas, who continued to smile at him.

"Goodnight, Tommy." he said as he entered his house, smiling at Thomas.

"Goodnight." and then the door closed.

Thomas stood there for a few more minutes, looking at the door and smiling like a dork. He couldn't be happier. He ran towards his bike, jumping in the process.

Inside his house, Newt stood by the door, touching his lips and smiling. He peeked out of the window and saw Thomas jump and punch the air happily, then ran to his bike. As he hopped on and put on his helmet, Newt saw him leave. He stood by the door and smiling, he went to his bedroom.

 

 

_"To love is nothing. To be loved is something. But to love and be loved, that's everything." -T. Tolis._


	22. I Believe We'll Be Okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, sorry! I couldn't upload it earlier! Sorry! But finally I managed to find some free time to do it.  
> In this week I'll end the month of October (on the fic, also in real life) and then I'll be back with the normal schedule (uptades on Fridays or Saturdays). We'll also be on November, so prepare yourselves for new things.

_"Love is giving someone the ability to destroy you, but trusting them not to." - Unknown._

 

The first week of October was chill. Everyone had started to wear coats and gloves, ready to be warm and cozy. Over Minho's apartment, Teresa was cleaning the place, the least she could do for Minho as he had given her a place to stay. Also she wanted to occupy her free time in something useful and this was it. She had finished the bathroom and her bedroom. Minho's room was his room and he had told her he would do his room. The kitchen and living room were clean too. Now she was dusting some areas of the apartment, but she couldn't do it without music.

She turned on the radio. "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TazHNpt6OTo)) started playing and she chuckled. Great song. She turned around and grabbed the synthetic duster; dusting all over the place. As she cleaned the apartment, she started moving her hips with the music as she always does when doing her chores. She closes her eyes and continues dusting, her back at the door.

Minho opens the door of his apartment and sees her dancing. She had her eyes closed and was swinging her hips at the music's rhythm. He tries not to laugh as he closes the door again without her noticing and walks towards the kitchen, her back at him. Hearing the chorus was about to began he grins and puts his things over the counter. He jumps behind her and starts singing,

 

_If you like piña coladas, -_ Teresa turns around and laughs at seeing him singing. He goes and grabs her hips, swinging their hips as he continues singing. All Teresa could do was laugh, one hand over her mouth. He stops singing but turns her around, facing each other; puts a hand on her back and the other grabbing her right hand and they dance. He twirls her around several times and faces her again, moving their arms like snakes and then dipping her almost to the floor.

_Then I'm the love that you've looked for, write to me and escape_

 

They stop dancing and stare into each other's eyes, their laughter coming to an end. Teresa chuckles and closes her eyes.

"You're such a goof," and let go of him. She grabs the duster from the floor and puts it over the counter as she feels the Asian looking at her.

A knock on the door makes Minho stop staring at her and going to the door. Teresa saw as he opened it and his face changed into one with surprise. Then a pair of long arms wrapped around Minho and a slim, red-haired woman was hugging him.

"Oh, I missed you so much, my baby!" she was saying as she pressed him against her.

"Come on, you're gonna choke the life out of him." said a manly voice behind her.

The woman let go of him and a man took a step forward. Teresa stared at them from the counter ([x](http://www.koreatimesus.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/136643_4307.jpg)). She noticed there were some suitcases over the entrance at their feet. The woman's eyes then fell on the raven girl,

"Oh, you have visits?"

Minho and the man followed her eyes and Minho chuckled, "Oh, right!" he approached Teresa, "Mom, dad, she's Teresa. A friend of mine." he turns to Teresa, "Teresa, my mom Eliza and my father Henry."

Teresa shook hands with the man, "Nice to meet you, sir." and then with the woman, "You too, maam."

"Aww, don't be so shy, love," said the woman- Eliza. "It's so nice to meet my baby's friends."

"Mom..." groaned Minho as he picked up the suitcases and closed the door, "Wait, what are you doing here? Not that I'm not happy seeing you here."

"Well, we weren't able to come last month and spend some quality time with you," she looks at her husband, "So, your father and I-

"More like she did," said Henry.

"Decided to come now and stay a few days."

"Oh," he said nodding as he walked towards the spare room but then stopped, "Oh,"

"What is it?"

Minho let go of the suitcases and turned towards his parents, "Eh, well, you'll see. Emm," he looked and pointed at Teresa, "Teresa is staying in the guest room. Her apartment got in fire and she doesn't have anywhere else to go."

"Aww, and you offered her a place to stay?" Minho was hugged again by his mom, "My sweet baby, always thinking about others."

"El, we don't have a room to stay." reminded her Henry.

"That's okay." said Minho, "You can stay in my room. Teresa will stay in the guest room and I'll take the couch."

Teresa looks at him, "Oh, no. You don't need to-

"It's fine. My couch is pretty comfy."

"Then let me sleep on it."

"No. You're my guest. And a girl. I'm not sending you to sleep on the couch."

Eliza smiles at Teresa, "Isn't my son gallant?" the raven girl smiles too. The woman's eyes widen, "Oh!" they all look at her as she turns to Minho, "I have to show you something I bought a few days ago! It's beautiful!" she grabs her suitcase and goes to Minho's room.

Minho turns to look at his dad, who eyes him back, "She bought a big faux fur coat that makes her looks like she's wearing Clifford the Big Red Dog." both Minho and Teresa laugh.

Eliza exits the room with -indeed- a big red fur coat and she walked towards her son, "Feel it, please. Isn't this so soft?" she presses against her cheek, a big smile over her face.

"El, you're going to freak out the poor girl."

_"I'm not!"_ she turns to Teresa, "I'm not, right?" the girl shakes her head, "See?!" she turn around and enters the room again.

Teresa walks towards Minho as his dad checks his phone and whispers, "Hey, really, you don't need to-

"It's fine. I really don't mind." Teresa opens her mouth but he holds his hand, "That couch right there" he points at his couch, "is gonna be my best friend until you can find a proper place."

Teresa smiles softly, "Ok." she turns around and grabs another suitcase; she gives a step forward but then turns around again, "But if you're thinking of trying to take advantage of me, let me call my doctor so he can revive me afterward." Minho laughs at that, shaking his head. Teresa also laughs, now going to the bedroom.

Minho and his dad stay there, looking at the bedroom's door. Minho exhales, "How I missed mom." he goes to the kitchen, his dad following him.

"Your friend seems nice."

Minho opens the fridge, "Yeah, she is." and takes out a jar of ice water.

"She really is staying here?"

"Yes," he grabs two glasses and pours a little on each.

"Does your girlfriend know?"

"Yes." he gives one glass to his dad, "I know that tone you're making, dad. Teresa is just a friend. I'm letting her stay here 'cus she's my friend."

Henry eyed him but nodded, "Okay, okay. I'm just saying..."

Minho takes the other glass and takes a sip from it. His eyes fall over the door of his bedroom, where Teresa and his mom are.

Inside the room, Eliza is already taking out some stuff and putting it on the desk. Teresa is sitting on the edge of the bed, caressing it. The woman turns around and continues taking out some clothes while she feels Teresa's eyes on her,

"What's wrong, honey? Do I have lipstick on my teeth or...?" she chuckled.

Teresa chuckled as she shook her head, "No, no. I... It's just that you look so young to be Minho's mom."

Eliza smiled at her, "I like you already." Teresa chuckled.

 

* * *

 

When his football practice at school (on Sunday, ugh) had finished, Teresa had offered Thomas to pick him up. They were on her car, driving towards his house. Teresa is looking at the road but her mind seemed somewhere else. She was gripping the steering wheel tight and sometimes she would bite her lip. Thomas notices something's wrong with her,

"You're acting odd. Why?"

Teresa looks at him and then at the road, "I'm odd all the time, everyone knows that." she answers in a monotonous tone, "Just last night, I tried to see how many jelly beans I could fit in my mouth."

Thomas stares at her, "Tell me the truth."

"Twenty-eight."

He rolls his eyes, "Come on."

She sighs, "Fifty-six."

_"Teresa!"_ he laughs, then he turns serious, "You know what I mean!"

"Nothing!" she looks at him and sees him giving her a look, "Really, I'm telling the truth." her car starts making a strange noise, "What now-?" and she barely has time to park it when the car stops completely. She makes a 'what?!' face and huffs, "Great. I need to take it to the mechanic. _Ugh!_ " she hits the steering wheel.

A few minutes later, Teresa hangs her phone. They're outside the car, Thomas leaning over it while Teresa was a few steps away.

She turns to the brunet, "Well, they will be here soon." she eyes her car, "Better be here before I set you on fire."

"I really hope you meant the car."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Tom."

Thomas chuckles and decides to change the subject, "So, how did it go with Minho's parents?"

"They're nice."

"How's his mom?"

"Intense. Now I see where Minho's personality came from." she looks at her watch, "Hey, didn't you needed to be at your work in like 30 minutes?"

Thomas groans, "Ah, fuck! I'm gonna get fired!"

"Can't you ask Minho to pick you up? Isn't he at work already?"

"Yeah, but he gave his parents his car so they could go to the supermarket and buy dinner. That's why I asked you to give me a ride." he looks around, "Do you think that if I run I could make it?"

"Tom, if you run towards your work, you're gonna die." he huffs, "Why don't you ask Newt? He can take you."

Thomas looks at her, "How come I didn't thought about it in the first place?" he starts taking out his phone, "Thank, Teresa. What would I do without you?"

"Sometimes I wonder the same."

A few more minutes later, a big black van appeared and parked near them. It was Aunt Allison's car, Thomas noticed. The glass came down and Thomas smiled at seeing the beautiful blonde at the steering wheel.

Thomas ran towards the window and gave a peck on Newt's cheek, "Love you, love you!" he then ran towards the other side and entered the car.

Newt looked at Teresa, "Sure you don't want a ride?"

Teresa nods, "No, I'll stay here. Don't worry."

Thomas takes half body out of the window, "See you tomorrow, T!"

She waves at them, "See you tomorrow, guys! Make good choices, Tom!"

And with that, the pair drove away. In their track, Thomas took out his phone, typing to Minho. When the car stops in the traffic lights, he turns to Newt,

"Thank you so much! I'm running late and Minho's not going to keep waiting for me. How can I ever repay you?"

Newt smiles, "I can think of something." the brunet leans forward and kisses him, "Mm, better." he continues driving.

"If you wanted a kiss you could asked for it, you know." said Thomas smirking.

"Keep acting like that and I'll drag your sorry ass out of the car."

"Okay, okay!" Thomas raises his hands, "We're all friends here." he chuckles, "But really, thank you. I don't wanna lose my job."

"I know."

"You're awesome."

"I know that too."

Thomas chuckles, "I love you."

"Are we stating the obvious, Tommy?"

20 minutes later they arrive at the coffee shop were Thomas worked. Newt parked the van and both climbed out, walking towards the building. They stop a few feet away from the entrance,

"I wonder if Minho is still waiting."

"There he is." says Newt pointing at the building.

The Asian was sitting near the window, looking around the place with a small notepad on hand, tapping a pencil over it. Minho turns to look at the street and then back inside with the same boring expression. He looks back at the street, clearly having noticed Thomas, and threw behind him the notepad, running towards the door. Newt and Thomas chuckled. Minho exited, staying over the door.

" _Finally!_ I was about to send a rescue team for you!"

"Hold onto your panties, Min. I'm here, okay?" he sighs and turns to Newt, "I have to go."

"I know." but they stay still, looking at each other.

"Hey, lover boy! We're waiting here!"

Thomas turns his head at his direction and growls. Newt shakes his head and takes a step forward, cupping Thomas' face in his hands and caressing his cheeks. The brunet sees the look in his eyes and smiles, ready to kiss him but he remembers the Asian looking at them.

Thomas eyes at his left as he whispers, "Newt, not in front of Minho."

"I'm sure he won't mind."

Thomas smiles -he's right- and kisses him, his hands on the blonde's waist. Newt putted his hands over his shoulders, pressing against him. God, Thomas could kiss those lips forever.

"Hey, if you two continue like that you're gonna need protection!"

Still kissing, Thomas holds up his middle finger at him.

 

* * *

 

The next day at school over lunch time, Thomas was exiting the bathroom. He went walking towards the lockers, where Newt was. He was taking out his sweater and putting it on. He saw Thomas and smiled, closing his locker.

"Hey, you."

"Hey," he looks at his sweater, "You cold?"

"Kind of. Here, feel." he stretches his arm out for Thomas to touch. He does and it's indeed cold.

An idea crosses his mind, "I know how you can be warm." he says as he pulls Newt into his arms, hugging him. Newt putted his arms around his neck, nuzzling his neck. He separates a little to see at the blonde, "Better?"

Newt looks at him, "Much better." they smiled at each other.

_"Hey, guys!"_ they turned their heads to the hallway and saw Minho and Teresa running towards them. They stand beside the pair and start walking along the hall.

"Let's go eat something, I'm starving." said Minho.

"You're always hungry. How can you be always hungry?" asks Teresa, making the Asian to nudge her playfully.

"You are always hungry. I don't know where it all can fit." Minho then shoves Thomas, making all of them laugh. The happy atmosphere it's interrupted when they hear a nasty but familiar voice behind them.

"Well, well, well. Look who we got here," said Garrett as he took a step forward, near them, "Well, if it isn't the Fantastic Four. _'Mister Fantastic'_ ," he says looking at Thomas, then he looks at Newt, "His girlfriend the _'Invisible Woman'_ ," the blonde glares at him, trying not to look affected. He looks at Minho later, " _'the Human Torch'_ , and..." he looks at Teresa, letting out a dry chuckle, " _'the Thing'_."

Teresa girths her teeth, just about to launch at him to erase that smirk from his face when she feels a hand around her wrist; she looks at Minho, who was looking fiercely at Garrett. She understood. They wanted to kick his ass but they couldn't (no more detention or being sent to Janson's office, please). They all felt impotent.

Garrett grins, knowing they wouldn't do anything, "See ya later." and continues walking away.

As he disappears into the corner, Newt crosses his arms, "What a jerk."

Thomas nods, "Yeah, well, you said it." he sighs, "How can someone be such a jerk?"

Minho shrugs, "Well, I'm hot, so... The joke's on him." the other three chuckle at that. That lightened the mood.

Scratching the back of his head, the brunet says "Well, we better go to the cafeteria before someone else takes the puddings." the blonde nods.

Thomas and Newt start walking away, too immersed into each other to notice the other two left behind. Minho was about to leave too when he noticed Teresa standing still with no intention to move, looking at the ground. He stood there, waiting for her,

"You heard him? Calling Newt the Invisible Woman when there's a woman on the gang? And then calling me The Thing?"

"I bet he said you were that because you can kick his ass into the stratosphere whenever you want." Teresa smiles, muttering a 'thank you', "Come on, let's go for the last puddings before those two." she chuckled and they ran, passing beside Thomas and Newt who were kind of confused that they were running. Boy, if they knew.

 

* * *

 

School went pretty normal after that.  After school, Gally finished with the American football training and went to the showers. The rest of the team showered quickly and exited the place. Once he finished and dressed, he noticed he was the only one left. He didn't mind. When he finished, he exit the locker room and walked through the hall. As he made his way, he saw the art class door open. Looking around to see if there was people around, he peeked inside.

Inside it smelled like fresh paint -obviously- and... a little bit of cinnamon? That's weird. There were chairs that formed a circle and others that were at random places. Some canvas were over the floor, blankets covering them. Turning his head to the corner, he saw Aris standing there, putting his stuff inside his satchel. The lighter brunet feels a presence and looks up,

"Oh, it's just you." and continues like the other wasn't there.

"Yeah. Just me." he takes a few step forward, near the canvas right in front of Aris. He can't see the front, "Is this yours?" but the lighter brunet covers it with a blanket. "Shy, are we?"

"Professional. It's not done, and I don't want anyone to see it. Especially you." he closes his satchel and leaves it over the stool. He walks towards the other side of the classroom, picking up the stools, "Now, if you excuse me, I have to clean the classroom and the leave."

"I'll help."

"Don't need to."

"I know, but I want to." they stare at each other until Aris sighs in defeat.

" _Fine_. Just don't break anything." and turns around.

Gally huffs and crosses his arms, "Who do you take me for? A shank?" he turns around and accidentally knocks down a glass with water and brushes all over the floor. Aris looks at him with an eyebrow up, "Well, what do you think, I am a shank." the lighter brunet rolls his eyes and continues, "That wasn't expensive, right?"

Aris ignores him and continues to pile the stools. Gally turns around and grabs some canvas from the tables, putting them on the floor near the windows. One of the blankets falls and he looks at the paint,

"Hey, someone drew a pair of panties with hearts in them." he says as he kneels.

Aris turns around to look at him, "Hey, you can't look at someone's art. It's not finished."

"This girl didn't told me not to." he says as he continues staring at the painting, "Why would someone draw this?"

"Don't know. Why don't you ask the artist?"

Gally reads the paint title, " _'Boyfriend's panties'_. Damn... She painted her boyfriend's panties, that's crude." he stands up and sits on one of the stools, "But why did she painted them with hearts?

"Because some of them have that design. It's pretty common, even with guys."

"Yours had _'We'll always have Paris'_ written on the back."

Aris snorts, "How do you even remember what they looked like? Do you still have my underwear or something?" he says in a mocking tone. He wasn't expecting an answer.

"I still have your underwear." says in a casual voice Gally.

He sees Aris' back tense but he didn't turned around, instead he answered back, "I still have your virginity."

Gally stood up, "Damn it, Aris! You can't say things like that!" he says looking around. Fortunately they were alone.

Aris turns to look at him, a hand over his hip, "Why? Does it bothers you? Does it... make you feel uncomfortable?!"

"Actually, yes, it does."

"Well, that's too bad. I don't care." he turns his back at him, taking a few steps towards the stools.

"Why are you being such a little bitch about this?!"

Aris turned around to look at him with wide eyes, mouth ajar and something in his eyes Gally took it as surprise. But he wasn't gonna stop; not this time.  Enough.

"Oh, yeah! You heard me! No more _'talking with nice words'_ or _'apologizing when talking about your shit'_! With your attitude, you don't deserve nice words!"

Aris' eyes twitched and took a step forward, "And what about you, huh? You don't deserve nice words either! Or bad words! You don't even deserve words!"

"What's with you?! Why do you have to act like that? Pardon my French, but you're so tight, that if you stuck a lump of coal up your ass, in two weeks it would turn into a diamond!"

Aris looks at his with wide eyes, "I take back what I said about bad words. Fuck you!"

"No, fuck _you_! Oh wait. Someone already took care of that!"

Before Aris' hand collided with his face, Gally managed to intercept it, holding onto his wrist and leaving the hand mid-air. They stared at each other, not moving, not muttering a single word, until Aris snatched back his hand.

Aris gently rubbed his wrist, still looking at the dirty blonde, "I don't have time for this. I- _I can't_ do this right now." he started rambling, "I can't be here with you because if I do then I'll try to kill you or I'll break down in tears or _both_ and--" the way Gally furrowed his eyebrows in confusion went unnoticed by him.

"What are you talking about? You mean the party on 9th grade? Is that what this is all about?"

"You don't know what I felt, how I felt the next day. You have no idea!" he says pointing at him, "Y-you just leaved and evaded me for several days!" he starts sobbing, "I need to go. I need to go now, or-" he was about to turn around and leave as he continued rambling when--

"My grandfather had an accident."

Aris stopped talking and looked at him, not really catching what he was saying, "What?"

Gally took a moment, eyes firm, "That's why I leaved. In the morning... I woke up to go to the bathroom and when I came out, my phone rang. It was my mother, telling me that my grandpa had an accident and that I needed to go to the hospital as fast as I could. She could barely speak and told me to hurry. I couldn't even leave you a note, or wake you up to explain. I-I had to run." he takes a deep breath, rubbing a hand over his face, stopping over his eyes, "He passed away."

Aris looks up, eyes watery and mouth ajar. He wanted to say something but he couldn't. He felt a knot on his throat. Gally looked absolutely crushed; it did affected him deeply. Suddenly, Aris' face changes from hurt to angry.

"You can't do this!"

"What?"

"Make me feel like a jerk when it's you who's supposed to be the jerk! Why didn't you told me so?! I would have understood-

"I was mourning, you shank. I didn't wanted to talk to no one. Not Newt, not Alby and not you." the lighter brunet looked away, "Look, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. I was going to call you and tell you I was sorry for leaving like that but then I learned from Rachel that you had move out. You had changed your phone number and you told her not to give me yours."

Aris stays there, looking between the floor and his hands but not at the dirty blonde in front of him. He fucked up. Again. And big.

He lets out a dry chuckle, "We are absolutely fucked up, aren't we."

The dirty blonde huffs, "Yeah, we are."

Playing nervously with his fingers, the green eyed brunet looks up, "Is there a chance we can start over? You know, forget about all this shit?"

Gally stares at him and then he extended his hand to Aris, grinning, "Gally."

The brunet rolled his eyes but accepted his hand, "Aris."

"I hope we can get along."

Aris nodded, "I'm sure we'll do." he smiled.

 

* * *

 

Over Minho's apartment at night, Teresa comes out of the bathroom at late hours. Everything was dark and everyone were sleeping. She slowly and quietly walked back to her room and in her tracks she eyed the couch. She stopped by in awe at seeing the Asian sleeping so peacefully, so she walked a little closer to get to see him more clearly.

Minho was sleeping on the couch, a blanket wrapped around him and his black hair falling over the pillow. He was sleeping so calmly that Teresa stayed there to admire him. He seems in peace, she smiled at that thought.

Out of the nowhere, Minho slowly blinks a few times as he wakes up, a smile on his face as he notices Teresa. In that second, he scares and yells, _"Daaahhhh!"_

_"Aaahhhhhhh!"_ she also yells, scared for him screaming; as they both scream Minho falls from the couch wrapped in the blanket and Teresa runs and shuts herself over the bedroom.

Note to herself: never stare at other people while sleeping.


	23. Should I Just Give Up? Or Should I Just Keep Chasing Pavements

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! Halloween is getting closer, just two days more. Are you ready? Cus I'm NOT T.T I don't know what to do; horror movies, pizza or parties? Why not both? Don't really like parties but, meeh...  
> So, about this chapter, we're gonna have a big game! A big American football game!
> 
> Note: I don't know anything, ANYTHING about Ameircan football. So if there are some mistakes (and trust me, there will be) please ignore them! Just try to enjoy the story~

Teresa and Aris were at the coffee shop, sitting over the couch in the middle and enjoying their coffee. They were talking about several things,

Teresa was talking, "I can't believe it. Thomas and Newt are finally, _finally_ happy together. Alby is kind of flirting with that Ben guy. You and Gally are friends again. And I'm going to die alone!"

Aris puts away his coffee, "You have us."

"I meant as in a love interest."

"Oh," he looks at the front and then he frowns, "Wait. You mentioned Gally and me in the same sentence."

Teresa nods, "Yeah,"

"And you said 'love interest'." Teresa nods again, making the lighter brunet's eyes widen, "We- we aren't together, you know? Me and Gally. Why would you even think that he and I would be together?"

"Well, you did had sex with him."

Aris gives her a look, "Said it louder, I don't think the guy all the way in the back heard you!"

_"Yeah, I heard it."_ said the guy on the back, raising his hand.

Aris rolls his eyes and huffs while Teresa looks around.

 

* * *

 

Over Thomas' house, he and Newt were over the brunet's room. They were sitting on his bed, talking over school stuff with some books and notebooks on the bed. Their backpacks were at the bed's bottom. As Newt read something from his notebook, Thomas stared at him, admiring his calm face, the way his eyebrows joined when he didn't understood something, or the way he was biting his pen. Newt noticed the way he was being stared and turned to look at the brunet.

"Yes, may I help you?"

Thomas was taken out of his thoughts, "With what?"

Newt puts his notebook aside, "You are staring at me like if you had lost something and I could find it for you."

"Well, I indeed lose something," the blonde looked at him with surprise, waiting for an answer, "A pair of lips."

Newt feels his cheeks getting red at that comment, but he leans forward and kisses Thomas' cheek. He separates just a few inches away, staring at the brunet's eyes. Thomas kisses him, putting a hand over his cheek to keep him near.

"Tommy, we have homework."

"I know." but he continues kissing him, not that Newt mind. They start kissing again, gentle lips touching the blonde's soft ones, feeling how he is laid flat on his back by the brunet.

"Oh." Newt squeaks into the kiss.

They separate but their hands still touching their bodies, "What? Is something wrong?" Thomas asks quickly, fearing he's pushing too forward. Newt pulls a book out from behind his lower back and they both look at each other giggling. The blonde tosses the book to the floor and lies back against the bed.

"Much better."

"I always thought Geography was a bother." Newt chuckles and they continue kissing.

Their kiss turns into a heated one, just barely separating for air. Thomas keeps roaming his hands over the blonde's sides, over his long legs and finally resting on the outer side of his legs, holding them there. Newt, on the other hand, was occupied with his hands on Thomas' hair, tangling them in it, pulling just a little to hear the brunet growl against his lips. He would smile and kiss him back, caressing the back of his head. They continued like that for a few minutes, and Thomas was about to take off his shirt when a voice downstairs was heard,

Downstairs, Stiles puts his bag over the couch and looks at the stairs. _Thomas was supposed to be here._

Stiles starts climbing the stairs and walking towards Thomas' room. He waits no more and opens the door, where he finds Thomas over his bed, back against the wall, and beside him Newt. They had books over their laps and were reading them; homework, obviously. Hearing the door open they looked up,

Thomas closes his book, "Hey, pops."

"Hey," he turns to Newt, "Hi, Newt."

"Hi, mister Hale. How's it going?"

Stiles smiles, "Fine. Thanks for asking." he turns to Thomas, "So, you two were doing homework?"

"Yeah," he quickly eyes Newt, "Yeah, yeah! I, uh, we had a lot of homework to do."

"Well, then I won't disturb you anymore. Newt, you're welcome to join us for dinner."

"Thanks, mister Hale." Stiles nods and closes the door. They wait for almost a minute for exhale in relief, "Well, that was close." says Newt, putting away his book, "Luckily we had our books on your room." he looks to Thomas, who was still, his book over his lap and holding at it tight. He frowned. Why was he still holding the book on his lap like he had been reading it a moment ago?

Then, something clicked. His frown turned into a surprised face, his mouth going 'o'. He licks his lips, "Tommy... are you...?" he looks at his lap, "You know..." and indeed, Thomas' face turns more red than before, "Oh my god, you're such a dork,"

"Not my fault that we were making out and interrupted by my pops." said Thomas as he move aside the book, holding up his legs. Newt was biting his lips, trying not to laugh.

Thomas stares at him, giving him a look. Then he grins and launches to Newt, tackling him to the bed and kissing him. Newt just chuckles but kisses him back.

 

* * *

 

Teresa returns from the coffee shop with Aris. She enters the apartment and goes to the kitchen for a glass of water. As she poured some water, she noticed something on the fridge's door. A note:

_"Minho, we went to the movies. There's money for pizza on the counter. Love, mom & dad."_

She smiled and putted it back where it was. She looked around, "Minho? Are you here?" nothing, "Seriously, are you here? Min?" nothing. He wasn't home. Great! She could take a long, warm shower now. Putting the glass on the sink, she went to her room for clean clothes, closing the door behind.

Moments later the front door opened and Minho entered the apartment; he was wearing his running clothes, had earphones on and was dancing around at the music's rhythm. As he was entering the kitchen to get water he sniffed the air. He then sniffed himself and made a face, going back to his room. Just as he closed his door, Teresa opened hers, poking her head out of the room.

"Hello?" as no answer came she shrugged it off and came out, her clean clothes on hand and went to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Minho came out of his room in only his boxers and his shirt on hand, as he normally does when he's alone and he's about to take a shower. A few steps away from the bathroom, he notices he didn't brought his towel with him and shrugs; he throws the shirt over the couch and returns to his room.

Meanwhile, Teresa inside the bathroom starts undressing. Pulling her shirt over her head, she threw it on the sink and also took off her jeans. Realizing she forgot her towel, she came out of the bathroom like that, and went to look for it but in the process,

"Wha- _Teresa!_ " Teresa's head snapped up and gasped, temporarily frozen in shock. Minho was standing in only his black boxers a few feet away from her, clearly getting ready to shower as he had a towel over his shoulders. She could admire his hard muscles as he stood there, staring at her. Looking down, Teresa realized she had only her blue lace bra and black boyleg panties on. Letting out a scream, she desperately grabbed for something to cover herself. Her eyes fell on the nearest piece of clothing she could find and covered herself with it.

"I was just going to... uh, shower but y-you um... I can go if-" she stammered.

" _N-no!_ I mean, you shouldn't get the bra- _RAW_ _end!_ " his eyes widen at that, "I meant raw end of the deal! I'll shower later, it's okay." and with that he started looking around the apartment, "Hey, have you seen my shirt, I leaved it- _oh_." he said, looking at the clothing Teresa had grabbed to cover herself. His shirt.

She look at the shirt on her hands, "I'm sorry! Here, I'll just... just let me get something else..." still she didn't uncovered her body.

"No, keep it. I'll go... go and yes, that..." awkwardly moving, he turned around and went to his bedroom, closing the door behind him and leaning over it. He heard some rustling and then the bathroom door closing. The sound of water came afterwards, indicating him that Teresa was currently showering.

He groaned, hitting his head with the door. _'What is wrong with you?! She's your friend! She's your friend who's staying here because she doesn't have anywhere else to go! Knock it out!'_

As he cursed himself, his phone over his bed rang; a message. He picked it up and read it:

**_'Good luck in the game, honey! I'll see you there.' -Sonya._ **

Sonya. He forgot about her for an instant. Well... now he felt bad.

 

* * *

 

Still over Thomas' house, Newt was looking at the clock over the nightstand. The game started in an hour or so. Thomas came from the bathroom dressed up and with a towel over his shoulders, his hair still wet from the shower.

"Hey, what are you thinking?"

"About the game." he smiles at the brunet, "I hope you win."

"So do I." he sits beside Newt on the bed, "Everyone is gonna be there. My parents will be there on time."

"My parents will go too."

"That's great. I hope they like it." they stay in silence for a few seconds. They look up and into each other's eyes, "Will you be cheering for me?"

Newt smiles, "I'll be the one screaming at the top of my lungs. You'll know it's me." he saw the face Thomas made and he pushed him, "Not like that, you dumbass!"

 

* * *

 

Arriving at the school at night for the game, Thomas and Newt found Teresa exiting a taxi. They walked towards her as she paid the taxi driver.

"Hey,"

The raven girl turned towards them, "Hey, guys." the taxi left. They started walking towards the building.

"Why didn't you told me your car is still at the workshop. I would have given you a ride." said Thomas.

"Nah, it's okay, Tom."

Newt spoke next, "Didn't you came together with Minho? I mean, you are living in his apartment."

Teresa didn't knew what to say. What could she say? When she came out of the shower, Minho wasn't there. Had it been that awkward? Was he in a hurry?

"Hey, guys!" they heard a voice, looking as Aris ran towards them.

Teresa sighed in relief, "Oh, you don't know how happy I am at seeing you here."

The lighter brunet frowned but ignored it. He turned to Thomas, "Are you nervous?"

"Me, nervous? _Pfft_ , nervous. _H-How_ can you say _that_. Nervous."

"He's as nervous as a cat with a long tail in a room filled with rocking chairs." said a familiar voice. They saw as Gally and Minho approached them.

Thomas crossed his arms, "Haha, very funny, Min."

The Asian chuckles, then his eyes fall over Teresa, "Hey,"

"Hi." they don't say anything else, just stare at their feet.

"So, are you guys nervous?" asks Aris to Minho, breaking the tension.

" _Me_? Pfft, _no_."

"Your nose is going to grow if you keep lying." says Gally beside him.

"I am not!"

"Keep going, Pinocchio." the Asian huffs, turning to Thomas instead, acting as if he were offended.

Gally rolls his eyes, turning to look around at the people arriving at the school. Then he feels the lighter brunet's eyes on him, so he smirks, "Please, stop staring at me like that. Undressing me with your eyes."

"I'm adding more clothes, Gally." the dirty blonde snorts, making Aris smile.

Their atmosphere was taken away when they heard the coach yelling from the other side of the building, _"Hale! Lee! What the hell are you doing there?! Stop flirting and move your asses back here!"_

Thomas and Minho groaned, but turned to their friend. They said goodbye and ran as fast as they could towards the coach. Gally, Newt, Teresa and Aris stood there.

Gally looks at them and points at the school with his hands, "Shall we?"

 

* * *

 

The night was chilly, making everyone wear coats and gloves to keep warm. The lights illuminated the field, letting everyone see the cheerleaders as they did their routine. Beside the cheerleaders was the band, led by Chuck, who seemed excited at being in a game. Over the bleachers, everyone was already there. Family, friends, students and teachers, everyone supporting their team. Teresa, Aris and Newt walked towards their seats, which were a little more near the ground. Gally was already standing right beside Chuck, looking at the field with his arms crossed. As they made their way, Teresa saw Thomas' dads. She waved at them, who waved back at her. She was Minho's parents beside them, waving at her too. Her eyes caught the sight of Vice-principal Paige sitting next to mister Gallaraga (Jorge) a few seats above them. Newt saw his parents just a few seats away from Thomas' dads. They sat on the cold metal, looking at the field.

Teresa accommodated her gloves, "Finally. The game we all've been waiting for. Aren't you guys excited?"

Aris nods, nudging at the blonde, "Yeah, Newt, you should be happy. You're finally going to see your boyfriend in action." Newt and Teresa stare at him, the raven girl trying not to laugh at the innuendo on his sentence.

Aris stopped for a moment and without looking at them he said "Okay, yeah. I heard myself, I know what it sound like. You dirty minds, you." Teresa laughs, nudging him. Newt continues biting his lip, his cheeks red.

In no time, both teams were over the field; the crowd exploded in cheers. Both of the captains approached the middle of the field, where the referee was waiting with a coin on his hand. The captains shook hands and stood there, looking at each other.

"Alright, gentlemen. Let's have a nice, fair game. Heads or tails?" asked the referee as he tossed the coin in the air.

The other captain spoke, "Tails."

The coin fell on the grass and the referee took it, "Heads it is." Simpson smirked.

The captain from the other team looked angry at him, "Pure luck."

"We'll see about that." and at the same time they turned around, going back to their teams.

As their captain made his way back, Thomas looked at the bleachers and saw his dads. He smiled. Then his eyes searched for another person and when he found it, he smiled even more. Newt was sitting near Teresa and Aris, looking at the field. He wasn't sure if he was looking at him but he was glad the blonde was there. Was here.

"Hey, Romeo. When we win you can go and spend time with Newt, but right now we need you here!" yelled Minho. Thomas ran back to the circle. The captain, Simpson, was explaining,

"Okay, so here's what were gonna do." he turns to a tall guy, "Norman, you go and cover the left side and don't let that redhaired guy reach us. He's got good feet. Minho, I want you near me as close as you can."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Simpson." the rest of the guys laughed.

The boy shoved him playfully and continued, "Gorski, you and Alby will be at the right side, okay? And Thomas, you're going to block... that guy. Number 12." he points over the other team and at a tall, bulk guy with the number 12 over his jersey.

Thomas follows his finger and his eyes widen, "HE'S A GORILA!" he yells as he tries to run away but Minho and Alby catch him, turning him back to the circle.

Back at the bleachers, "So, do any of you know how this game is played?" asked Newt.

Teresa shrugged as Aris shook his head, "No, but I'll just scream when the rest of the people does, so..."

"That's how you watch a game? Just follow the flow?"

Aris nods, "Just follow the flow,"

The referee rang his whistle and then all started. The next minutes were filled with yells, cheers, some curses and groans, coming from both the bleachers and the field. Teresa, Aris and Newt were yelling every time one of BH was blocked or tackled to the ground. Over the field, both teams were on formation. BH captain was looking around, searching for the perfect next move.

"Set... _Hut! Hut!_ " he yelled before gaining the ball and stepping back. His eyes scanned the field as he looked at the formation and the players. A smirk appeared on his face as he finally got his sight on Minho. With a perfect throw, the ball fell into Minho's arms and he ran.

"Catch him! Catch him!" yelled the coach of the opposite team.

Minho kept running, evading all the players that launched at him. He gained a first down before he was taken down.

Everyone on the bleachers, including the gang, hissed in pain. Aris bite his lip, "Ow, that's gotta hurt."

"You think he's fine?" asked Teresa, looking with worry at the Asian over the field.

"He's still moving, right?"

Alby helped Minho get up as the other team scored. Going back to the game, the ball was dropped by the other team, so BH took the chance and grabbed it, running as fast as they could. The number 12 tried shoving Alby off but the dark skinned boy displayed great hand strength by holding onto his jersey and managing to turn him away. The crowd went crazy, cheering more loudly as BH scored. There even were some guys who were shirtless and had their stomachs painted, spelling 'BEACON HILLS' in red.

Teresa looked over the cheerleaders, who were standing near the band and saw Sonya. Obviously, she was a cheerleader. She was talking to a girl with brown curly hair. Her eyes fell on the field, right at where Minho and Thomas were.

The next time BH had the ball it was one lanky guy, who had managed to make Thomas throw the ball at him as he was tackled by the number 12. That did hurt. But once the ball fell into his hands, he looked around, not very sure were to run.

The coach threw his cap at the ground, "Run, Dover! Run, you son of a bitch!" the guy started running, barely evading the other players.

Everyone at the bleachers were yelling at him, the cheerleaders were even shaking their pom-poms.

"Come on!" yelled at the same time Newt and Aris.

Teresa was on her feet in no time, "Come on, Dover! _MOVE YOUR BLOOMIN' ASS!_ " she yelled at the top of her lungs, making everyone in the bleachers, including Thomas and Minho's parents, look at her. Aris and Newt also looked at her, almost laughing.

Time passed and the game was reaching its end. Both teams were tied, and there was only few minutes before it all ended. Both teams were tired, sitting on the field and taking air. BH was the same, some had taken off their helmets. The crowd was in the edge of their seats. The band and the cheerleaders were sitting too, tired of being cheering their team. Gally was talking with the coach. Over the bleachers, Newt looked at the scoreboard, biting his lips. Then he looked at the field again,

"They're starting to get tired." Aris and Teresa looked at him, "They're not gonna make it, not like that. They need motivation."

"We need to do something."

"I have an idea." said Aris. He stood up and went down off the bleachers, right at Gally's side. Both Teresa and Newt looked at each other in confusion.

She looks back in time to see Aris whispering something in Gally's ear and the dirty blonde shaking his head. The light brunet points at the field and says something she can't figure out, but judging by the way he's frowning, it must be something serious. But what?

Teresa swears she saw Gally huffing and then nodding at him in defeat. Aris patted his shoulder and ran back to his seat. Gally went to the band and spoke to them. In a second, Aris was sitting beside Teresa.

"What did you said to him?"

"Oh, you'll see."

Teresa frowns but when she's gonna ask what does that mean, her thoughts are interrupted by another sound ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy1YkP8sxFY)). She turns her head to the front, where the band is and sees a girl from the band playing the clarinet and then other guy the drums. The audience started whispering between them, not knowing what was happening. The rest of the band joins them as both teams over the field look at them. Still no having idea of what was happening, and much to her surprise, Gally approached the front, putting on a sweatband over his head and dancing a little while accepting the microphone from Chuck,

_War, huh,_

He started singing, making Teresa and Newt open their mouths in surprise. Aris beside them was chuckling silently. The audience was looking at each other, the same as the teams over the field. Stiles turned to Derek and mouthed something as his husband shrugged. Vice-principal Paige looked over the parents and students, equally confused. Nobody seemed to understand what was happening as the band continued playing and Gally continued singing. Even the coaches turned towards them and so did the referee.

_Shout it!_

Chuck was waving at the audience, like trying to incite them to join. Some of the people moved their bodies, following the rhythm, but others were still confused. Some of them were nodding, others mouthing the lyrics. Oh. _Oh._ He was trying to make the audience to cheer for the team. Like a half-time show.

Immediately, Teresa looked at the cheerleaders and her eyes meet Sonya's. She waved at her to join, to sing. She nodded and turned to the rest of the girls. In one second, they were harmonizing with the band. Perfect. The audience seemed to catch that as they were moving their bodies, following the tune. Both Teresa and Newt joined them, and so did Aris. Parents and students and even the teachers joined.

Over the field, the team seemed to understand what the others were doing and they appreciate it. Minho turned to the team, still in circle and spoke,

"Okay, you guys see them? Over the bleachers?" he asks pointing at that direction without looking, "That's for us. They have faith in us and we're not going to disappoint them, are we?"

"No!" everyone yelled.

"I can't hear ya!"

_"NO!"_

"Okay guys, _let's do this!_ " he yelled clapping.

_"YEAH!"_ they yelled and broke.

_War, huh,_

Gally starts clapping, turning to the audience. In a few seconds, everyone starts clapping too, including the band, cheerleaders and the audience. The ones who were sitting stood up and joined the rest. Newt's parents were there, clapping beside Thomas' parents. Minho's parents were clapping too, Eliza clapping with her arms up and a big smile over her face. Minho's dad rolled his eyes but smiled. Jorge and Ava clapped too, all the teachers even dancing a little. Students were dancing too and laughing in a good way.

Over the field, the team started their line up more than ready; sweaty foreheads, dirty and calloused hands, adrenaline pumping through their bodies. The other team seems a little distracted by the chants on the bleachers. The whistle rang and they continued playing, throwing the football and evading the opposite team. Minho felt his heart over his ears as he raced down the field again. He turned around and saw Thomas being tackled right after the ball left his hands, hurdling towards the Asian. He caught the ball and ran as fast as he could.

"Run, Minho!" yelled Thomas still on the ground.

Minho ran, evading tackles by hopping to the left abruptly, twisting to the right. The band played louder as the audience clapped and sang louder too, growing excited watching the game. The coach gripped tight at the waterboy as the Asian ran. Minho's parents were holding hands and clapping at the same time. The cheerleaders clapping with their pom-poms on hands, Sonya following her boyfriend's moves, praying they could win this game. The only thing in Newt's mind was 'come on, Tommy!'.

While directing the band to get louder, Chuck stood beside Gally and started hitting the air with his fist. The tall dirty blonde turned to look at the bleachers and saw Newt, Teresa and Aris standing on their feet, supporting the team. Aris noticed he was being observed and looked down at the band, finding Gally staring at him. He smiled at the dirty blonde and looked back at the field. Gally smiled too and turned around, putting an arm around Chuck's shoulders and clapping with him.

Thomas took off his helmet and looked at where Newt was, and nodded at him, making the blonde do the same. More sure of himself, he put back on the helmet and ran to his teammates, who were making a new plan.

The guys who were shirtless and had their stomachs painted, stood up over the seats and swing their shirts in the air. The cheerleaders started a routine while clapping. The band was getting tired but they didn't level down the intensity of their music.

Seven seconds left. Seven seconds. They could do it.

The whistle rang again and this was it. The opposite team launched towards him but his teammates wouldn't let them reach the Asian. Alby was holding the big guy from before. Thomas was kneeled in front of him, holding the ball. Minho saw everything in slow-motion; how Alby kept holding the other boy, how some of his teammates were being tackled, how Thomas yelled at him while holding the ball. He looks at the crowd and instead of searching for long blonde hair he searches for medium raven hair. He sees Teresa standing there as everyone claps and sings; she mouths 'you can do it!' and he nods, even if she can't see it, before kicking the ball as hard as he can. Everyone held their breath as the ball flies gracefully over the sky...

And right through the goal posts.

_War!_

 

The referee blows his whistle, indicating the game's end and the points are to Beacon Hills. Everyone shouts ecstatically, applauding at the team's victory. The cheerleaders start jumping and hugging each other, smiling at the team. Teresa, Newt and Aris hug, jumping and looking at the field. Minho's mom shouts and jumps into her husband's arms, kissing him. Jorge and Mrs. Paige high five and continue applauding.

The coach from the other team throws his board angrily at the ground and even shoves the waterboy away. The coach from BH looked like he wanted to kiss every single one of them; he turned to the referee and hugged him, confusing the other man.

Over the field, the team was having their own victory, taking off their helmets and throwing them at the ground. Thomas and Minho launch at each other, the Asian jumping at Thomas' arms and punching the air. The rest of the team runs towards them and start jumping, bumping against each other. After shaking hands with the opposite team, everyone ran to where the coach was. The team then ran back at the bleachers, being congratulated by their coach who hugged them all.

Newt, Teresa and Aris came down the bleachers to congratulate their friends. Gally bumped fists with Minho and Thomas, then went to Alby to do the same. Newt approached Thomas and hugged him; the brunet picking him up and twirling him around. Alby and Gally came back.

Aris stood near Gally and pulled at the band over his head, chuckling, "You really got into the mood, huh?"

He shrugs, "You wanted me to cheer them."

Thomas put down the blonde and felt so impotent that he couldn't kiss him 'cus both their parents were there, making their way down the bleachers in the sea of people. But he was happy at having Newt beside him. The blonde hugged Alby, congratulating him for the game.

Teresa was a few steps away, people pushing at her, not leaving her to approach her friends. Looking around, her eyes fell over Minho. She smiled at seeing him being cheered by his teammates, patting his back and shoulders. The Asian kept laughing and keeping everyone away from his hair, which was wet from sweat. But her smile fell once she saw Sonya approaching Minho and kissing him in the lips, hands cupping his face. He putted his arms around her waist.

Something moved inside her chest. She stood there, not wanting to take another step closer.

"Teresa, hey!" it was Aris, who made his way through the crowd, "Come here, we're gonna celebrate!" he notices her face, "Is something wrong?"

She looks at him, "I'm a little dizzy. I'm gonna... walk a little. You know, walk it off."

He nods, not too convinced, "Ok. We'll be here, yeah?"

She nods, trying to smile but not too convincing. She turned around and made her way through the crowd again, this time to exit.

Minho separates from Sonya and cheers at his friends, still holding onto the blonde girl. He looks around and sees the rest of the gang but not Teresa. He frowns at not seeing her there, but he's quickly distracted by the coach yelling he's inviting the pizza tonight.

Teresa exits the building, walking towards the sidewalk to take a cab. She stops before she raises her hand, and opts for walking like she had told Aris. She starts walking through the streets, looking at the front and occasionally at her feet. Near the cinema, she looks at the street lights and sighs. The movie they were projecting tonight was 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'. Good movie. She remembers the part where Sally sings her song after Jack leaves. A sad song about how much he loved him, but he could never know. She frowns, and sings a part of the song,

 

_And does he notice my feelings for him?_

_And will he see how much he means to me?_

_I think it's not to be_

 

She laughs at that. Of course, she's depressed now. That's the only reason she's singing a sad song about love and that kind of stuff. She normally doesn't do that. She continues walking away until she reaches an empty street. She looks around to make sure there's no one around and sits on the sidewalk, legs up to her chest,

 

_And will we ever end up together?_

_No, I think not, it's never to become_

_For I am not the one._

 

She feels a knot on her throat and covers her face on the space between her legs. She stays there a few minutes, not very sure how many, until a voice is heard,

_"Teresa?"_

The raven girl looks up and turns to look at Aris a few steps away from her. He's looking at her with worry written over his face.

"Are you alright?"

She nods, "Yeah..." and stands up, wiping her pants.

"Don't lie to me."

"I'm not."

"Teresa, I've known you since we were two. I know when you lie. And especially lying about lying. So stop lying about lying about being fine." he takes a deep breath, "Did something happened? You disappeared once the game concluded. We were gonna celebrate and I couldn't find you. Thomas is also looking for you. So is Minho."

"Like he cares I'm not there."

"What?" he frowns, "Teresa, he cares. He's your friend," she bites her lips and looks away. Something clicks in his mind, "Is this about what happened with the cheerleaders the other day?" when the raven girl doesn't answer, he takes it as a yes, "They are just a bunch of hypocrites, Teresa. Shake them off."

She quickly turns to look at him, "Have you ever wondered why I don't have a boyfriend?"

"Don't know. There was a time when I thought you were lesbian." the girl glares at him, "But now I know that's not the case. Maybe you haven't found the right guy?"

She snorts, "Yeah, right. Look at me."

"I am."

"Then how come you don't see that nobody wants to date me! I'm not a viable option!"

"What are you talking about?" the girl turns around and starts running, "Teresa, wait!" he follows her, running behind her as fast as he can. Damn, she can run! _"Teresa! Teresa!"_ finally, the girl stops but doesn't turn around, "Teresa, _don't-_ wait up."

"Why?" she turns around, face red and eyes wet, "Why? Because of _'love'_? You know what I think of love? _Love sucks._ "

"I know it's hard right now but please don't give up."

"Why? Because _'love is just so wonderful that you can't live without it'_?!" she spat.

Aris looks at a side and pauses for a moment, "Let me tell you something." he looks at the raven girl, "My dad said he loved me. He said he loved my mother, and then he left us. He left us for some _other woman!_ " he takes a deep breath, "But I guess that's just the way it is and love doesn't always work."

"I hate it. I hate this, I don't want to feel this way!" she closes her eyes, slurping her nose, "I don't understand why everybody wants it so much."

"Because it's the closest thing we have to magic." Teresa looks back at him, eyes glassy and tears down her cheeks, "Don't give up yet,"

Teresa blinks a few times and wipes her eyes with her long sleeves. Slurping her nose one more time she smiles softly, "You're my anchor, you know that?"

Aris smiles back and gives a few steps closer, hugging the raven girl. Then they separate, his arm around her shoulder and her arm around his waist; they start walking away.

 

 

_"People cry, not because they're weak. It's because they've been strong for too long." -Johnny Depp._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halloween chapter on Saturday (if not, then on Sunday, but I'll try to make it on Saturday) ;)


	24. This Is Halloween

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa! Hello, boils and ghouls~ I'm sorry I'm uploading it today instead on Halloween. And also I'm sorry it's kind of short. My inspiration went away T.T But still, I hope you enjoy it.

_"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." - Stephen King._

 

Sonya and Teresa were at the mall, over a Halloween costumes store. They were looking for costumes for the party. Teresa was inside the dressing room while the blonde girl was outside, waiting for her.

"How's it going, Teresa?" asked Sonya.

_"This teacher costumes is not really... like the ones teacher's would wear."_ another gruff, _"Is B for 'Boobs' or 'Books'?"_

Sonya chuckles at that comment, "Don't worry. Try another one."

Teresa comes out and puts away the teacher costume. Sonya grabs one of her own and enters the dressing room, pulling the curtain to close it.

_"I'm so glad we could do something like this."_ said Sonya while changing.

Teresa sat on one of the chairs, looking at the costumes that were there, "Yeah?"

_"Yeah. You know, go shopping with another girl, talk about boys... Oh! By the way, is there anyone?"_

"Is there anyone what?"

_"That you like?"_

Teresa looks at her hands, not so sure if she wanted to talk anymore, "No."

_"That can't be true. Come on! I promise I won't tell."_

_'That's not the problem.'_ thought the raven girl. "No, really, there isn't." she stops talking, looking around and sighs, "Well... there is one guy-

_"I knew it!"_ one hand came from behind the curtain, pointing at the air. Teresa chuckled. _"So? How is he? Do I know him?"_

Teresa scratches the back of her head, "Uh, umm..." she starts making a high pitched noise (the ones she makes when she's uncomfortable), "Maybe."

_"Is he hot?"_

Teresa smiles, remembering the way he looked in only boxers. Also how he looks every day, "Yeah, he is."

_"Is he a good person?"_

"Totally."

_"Great personality?"_

"More than mine," they both chuckle.

_"He's got the complete package, then. Why don't you ask him out?"_

Teresa stands up, pacing around the place, "He's, uh, not available at this moment. Besides, I don't think it could work out."

_"Why's that?"_

"He doesn't feel the same way." she says in a sad tone.

Sonya opens the curtain, revealing she was dressed as Harley Quinn. She walks towards the raven girl, "Don't feel bad. I'm sure things will work out just fine." she caresses her arm, "Hey, is he going to be at the party?"

"Yeah."

"Why don't you dance with him!" Teresa shakes her head, chuckling, "No, listen! I'll spook away the girls who want to dance with him! It's perfect!"

"No, it's fine. I'll... manage to do something."

"Okay." she says with a nod, then she smirks and puts her hands on her hips, posing, "How do I look?"

Teresa nods, "Very real. I thought for a second you were the original Harley Quinn." they laugh and continue trying costumes.

 

* * *

 

Aris was over his house, finishing some Halloween decoration some guys at school had asked him to do. Gally was there to help him, sitting over the couch and trying to make a spider.

"What'd you think?" asks the dirty blonde, holding up the decoration.

Aris looks his way, "I think the first one is better. The red one."

"The red one." says Gally nodding and throwing the spider behind him. As he tries to make another one he speaks, "So, are you going to the Halloween party?"

"No."

"Why's that?"

"I'm not in the mood. I don't have a costume. Want to stay at home watching movies."

Gally puts down the spider, "Is that one whole answer or are you just telling me random things?"

"Both." Gally nods and mutters something like 'I was expecting that', "What about you?"

"We're on the same boat, mate."

"Really? I thought you might wanna go. You know... free food, girls in sexy costumes, dance."

"I don't dance. I'm from that town in 'Footloose'." the lighter brunet chuckles at that.

The bell rings, so Aris stands up and walks towards the door. Gally follows him. Once he opens the door, a small blonde kid, maybe 7 or 8 years-old is standing there, holding a bunch of papers in one hand and a terrarium in the other.

Aris smiles, "Hi, Malcolm, How you doing, little man?"

The kid smiles, "Fine!"

"What brings you to my humble house?"

"Oh!" the little boy -Malcolm- grabs one of the papers and gives it to him, "I don't want you to be worried, but Minerva's missing."

"Oh, no," says Aris in a worried voice, taking the paper from the boy and looking at it. Gally takes it too, seeing a picture of a tarantula and the letters 'MINERVA' on top.

"If you see her, don't feed her. She has an irritable bowel."

Gally nods, "Right. 'Cause that would be my very first instinct. To feed the tarantula."

Aris rolls his eyes and looks back at the little boy, "Don't worry. If I see her, I'll give your mom a call, alright?"

"Thank you!" the kid runs away, waving at them, "Bye!"

Aris closes the door and turns to look at the dirty blonde. Gally nods, "Nice kid. I like him already."

Aris rolls his eyes and goes back to the dining room, sitting on his chair. Gally follows and sit on the couch, "So, you were saying you weren't going to the party. I'm not going to the party either. And we are going to spend Halloween alone in our houses?"

"What'd you had in mind?"

Aris shrugs, "You wanna stay here and watch some horror movies, order pizza, eat some popcorn and candies that are supposed to be for the kids when they come trick 'r treating?"

"You had me at 'horror movies'." the lighter brunet smiles and continues with the decorations.

 

* * *

 

Sonya and Teresa were walking upstairs at Minho's apartment, holding some bags and talking while coming from the mall. What they didn't knew was that Minho was hiding behind a bump out on his apartment, waiting for them wearing a Jason's hockey mask. As they come up the stairs and made their way towards his door, he jumps out and yells,

_"DANGER!! DANGER!!"_ they both scream and jump away, their backs hitting the neighbor's door.

"Minho!" yells Sonya, moving a hand away from her agitated chest.

Teresa lets out a deep breath, "What the hell was that?!"

The Asian takes off his mask, laughing, "A lesson of importance: ALWAYS be prepare, as anything could happen in Halloween."

Sonya sighs, covering her face as Teresa glares at him, "You're a freak!"

"Perhaps." the raven girl rolls her eyes. He opens the door, letting the girls come in first and then himself. He walks towards the kitchen, opening the fridge, "So, are those your costumes?" he asks nodding at the bags.

Sonya nods, "Yeah, we finally got the ones we wanted."

Minho exits the kitchen, approaching his girlfriend, "So? What are they?"

"Not telling. It's a surprise," says the blonde girl, putting her arms around his neck.

"Oh, I like the sound of that." she chuckles and kisses him.

Teresa looks away, scratching her arm awkwardly. This goes unnoticed by Sonya, but not by Minho, who breaks the kiss.

Teresa looks around, "Um, I'm gonna go."

Sonya looks at her with a frown, "What? Why? I thought we agreed to change and make up here."

"Yeah. I, uh, have some other things to do but when I finish, I'll come and get change, okay?" the blonde girl nods at her. Teresa grabs her bag, "Okay. I'll see you two later." she walks towards the door. As she opened the door she felt a pair of eyes following her.

 

* * *

 

Over the Hale house, Thomas was over his room, changing into his costume while his dads were doing the same. While on his room, Thomas looked at himself over the mirror. He was dressed as Freddy Krueger: he was wearing a red and green stripped long sleeve shirt, a brown fedora, black pants and his characteristic glove with the blades made of papier mache (so nobody gets hurt). He had also painted some cuts over his face, nothing too big.

 Stiles had came out of the shower and quickly changed. His clothes were all black (black jeans, black long sleeve shirt), boots and he had a red hooded cloak. He was a version of a male Red Riding Hood.

He approached his son's door and knocked, "Thomas, you almost done?"

_"Almost!"_

"Okay, I'll get going to the car okay?" he then went downstairs, "Come on, Derek! Hurry!" he comes downstairs and as he enters the kitchen he stops, looking at his husband over the counter. He was wearing a grey tank top, dark jeans and boots. Over his hands -once which had a glass of water- were claws.

Derek smirked at seeing the older brunet speechless. He put down the glass and took a few steps forward, "Hey there, Little Red Riding Hood. I ate your granny and now I want to eat you too."

Stiles chuckles and covers his face, "Ow, Derek." he walks towards his husband, putting a hand over his muscled chest, " _Ow_ , Derek." he says in a seductive tone.

The dark haired man grinned as the other stood on his toes to kiss him; Derek's hands on his hips, pressing against him. They were interrupted when Thomas came down,

" _Ugh! Don't!_ This is the kitchen, for _God's sake_!" he yelled while covering his eyes.

His dads separate and look at him. Stiles huffs and goes to the door, ready to start the car. Derek and Thomas made their way too, and as they were about to exit the house, Derek hit him in the back of the head for interrupting them.

 

* * *

 

Over Newt's house, the blonde had just finished putting his costume on. He looked at himself over the mirror: he was dressed as a prisoner, with black and white striped shirt, black leggings and some cuffs on his right hand where he was holding the mugshot placard.

There was a knock on the door and when it opened, Allison entered his room, dressed as Elastigirl from The Incredibles, "Come on, honey. It's getting late,"

Andrew appeared behind her dressed as Jack Sparrow, "Love, it's a Halloween party. It's supposed to be late."

The woman shoved him playfully and they exited the room, closing the door behind them. Newt rolled his eyes and looked at himself again at the mirror. _'I wonder if Thomas will like it. I hope so.'_ he grabbed his phone and exited his room.

 

* * *

 

Once you arrived at the auditorium, you could see there were a lot of people; students, teachers and even parents, some on disguise and some in normal clothes. There was music with a guy playing DJ, a food table with all kind of food with scary names on them, typical Halloween decoration with spiders, webs and stroboscopic lights.

 

_Very superstitious, writings on the wall,_

_Very superstitious, ladders bout' to fall,_

_Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin' glass_

_Seven years of bad luck, the good things in your past_

 

Thomas and his dads entered the auditorium. Stiles looked around the place with a big smile, "This is so cool!" he turns to Derek, "Remember last year of high school, the Halloween party?"

Derek grins, "Of course. You were dressed as Peter Parker."

"Aww, you remember," he kisses him.

Thomas groaned, "Okay, I'm gonna go over there to barf, if you don't mind." he said pointing at the snacks table. He didn't wait for his dads to answer, he just walked over there.

Once there, he looked over the food. Everything looked delicious, and he wanted to eat one of everything. He wondered if Newt would like some. That's when he noticed. Newt. Where was he? He looks around, trying to find him but with no success.

_"Looking for someone?"_

He turned around and saw Minho and Sonya behind him. Sonya was dressed as Harley Quinn, and Minho... He was wearing a shirt with little cards in different tones of grey glued to it, and jeans ([x](http://i.imgur.com/zAW2jaH.jpg)).

"So... what are you?"

Minho snorts, "Amateur."

Thomas turns to Sonya, "Do you know?"

"I'm not allowed to say."

Minho looks behind Thomas, "Are those your parents?" the brunet looks back and nods, "Nice costumes."

"Where are your parents?"

"My parents are over there." he said pointing at the other extreme of the auditorium. They were indeed. Eliza was wearing a red dress with several flowers on the cleavage, some stripes of white over the puff sleeves ([x](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/3a/21/2e/3a212e6ffbff60a5b0b220ec7ec96161.jpg)). Her makeup was simple; brown eye shadow, natural lipstick and her skin tone was a little more clear. She had two red dots on her neck that seemed like fangs marks ([x](http://41.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkhingiGXF1qf7r5lo1_1280.jpg)). Her hair was styled with all the curls above and falling ([x](http://listfan.xyz/wp-content/uploads/the-fearless-vampire-killers-5.jpg)). Minho's dad was dresses as a vampire, with a black cape, white long sleeves and a vest ([x](http://www.thecostumeland.com/images/zoom/ic11002-midnight-vampire-men-halloween-costumes.jpg)).

"Nice."

_"What's nice?"_ they heard a familiar voice.

Minho turned around to see Teresa standing behind him and Sonya.

She was wearing a white button down shirt, black leggings and flats. Her nails were painted red and so were her lips, and she was wearing a short black wig with fringe ([x](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/f8/bc/b2/f8bcb2ea33866f29fd7c22d2ec8edffc.jpg)).

"Oh my god." he said pointing at her, "You're... you're...!"

"I am, I am."

Thomas and Sonya rolled their eyes. The blonde girl saw someone on the dance floor and smiled, "I'm going to say hi to a friend over there. Bye guys!" she patted Thomas' shoulder and ran.

Thomas nods her way -as Minho was still staring at the raven girl- and sees her leave. But just as he is about to take away his eyes from the dance floor, he sees a very familiar silhouette and stops. His eyes widen as he looks at Newt over the dance floor, walking through the crowd and looking around. Like he was looking for someone. He stops once his eyes fall over Thomas. Ignoring his two friends, the brunet walks towards him.

"Hey,"

"Hey, Tommy." he admires his costume, "So... Freddy Krueger? Or you didn't knew what to wear?"

Thomas raises his hand with the glove, "Yep, but don't worry. I'm not going to appear in your dreams."

Newt shrugs, "That's a shame." he chuckles, "What'd you think about my costume?"

Thomas huffs, taking a step forward, "Someone call the police and the fireman."

Newt smiled and rolled his eyes, "Stop it."

"I'm serious. Those lips should be illegal." he says putting his hands over the blonde's hips.

Newt whispers, leaning closer to his face, "Tommy, your parents are here. And so are my parents,"

Thomas looks around. He doesn't see any of them. He doesn't know if he should be thankful or worried about it. He shakes it off.

"Care to dance?" he asks while extending his hand to the blonde, who smiles and takes his hand.

Over the snacks table, Minho and Teresa kept talking.

"No, really. I'm betting half of the people here doesn't know what your costume is."

"Well, not everyone has watch 'Pulp Fiction'."

"Poor people." he says putting his hands on his hips.

Teresa looks at him and his costume and frowns. What Halloween costumes is that? Does it mean something? Why did he had several shades of grey-- _Oh._

She smirked at him, crossing her arms, "Clever boy."

He grins, "You got it?"

"Aha,"

"Thomas and Sonya didn't get it."

Teresa snorts, "Amateurs."

Minho stares at her. That's exactly what he said about them. As Teresa looks around the place, Minho felt himself smiling. Just as he was opening his mouth _'Uma Thurman'_ started playing and his eyes widen, turning to Teresa.

"You need to dance right now! Right now!" he said grabbing her by the arm and pulling her to the dance floor. They went near Thomas and Newt and started dancing.

 

_She wants to dance like Uma Thurman_

_Bury me 'til I confess_

_She wants to dance like Uma Thurman_

_And I can’t get you out of my head_

 

 

* * *

 

Over Aris' house, he and the dirty blonde were over the couch at the living room, watching horror movies and eating popcorn. Aris' parents were out, so they had the house for themselves. Currently they were watching _'Psycho'_.

Gally points at the TV, "I can't believe people used to get scared with this."

"Hey, don't blame them. These movies used to be all about suspense and psychological terror. Not all gory like 'Saw'." he pauses the movie, "Wanna watch something scarier?"

"Like what?"

Aris stands up and walks towards the TV stand, looking through the movies, "Well, I have _'Rosemary's Baby'_ , _'Poltergeist'_ , _'Carrie'_ ,"

"Something from this century?"

Aris rolls his eyes but continues searching, " _'The Ring'_ , _'Trick 'r Treat'_ , _'Sinister'_ ,"

Gally stands up, "Please, something scary. Something that makes me jump out of my skin, that makes my bones jump in fear."

In that moment, the bell rang and startled them both, especially Gally, who literally jumped. Aris smirked at him,

"The pizza is here." he walked towards the door. Gally had a hand over his chest, and Aris thought he heard him say 'I think I just had a minor heart attack'. He opens the door and greets the delivery boy. After paying, he closed the door, pizza box on hand.

"You're okay there, big guy?" Aris walks towards the table, putting the pizza down. "Don't wanna call an ambulance for you on Halloween." he said walking toward Gally.

Gally glares at him, "Come on. You were startled too."

"Yeah, but my feet were still touching the floor."

"Very funny." he answers in sarcastic tone, taking a step forward. They stand in front of each other, Aris with his arms crossed over his chest and Gally with his arms at his sides. They continue to stare at each other defiantly when Gally frowns,

"What's that?" he looks down at the floor and sees a furry tarantula walking over his bare feet, _"What is that?!"_ he yells, making Aris yell too. As he yells _"It touched me! It touched me!"_ , both of them climb onto the couch, screaming at the tarantula.

"It's Malcolm's tarantula! Get it!" yells Aris, pointing at it.

" _You_ get it!"

"You're the bigger guy!"

As they continue, the tarantula moves to the other side of the couch, so they jump to the other couch, still looking at it. While screaming, Gally puts his arms around Aris' back and neck, holding him tight to his body -with Aris' hands over his chest- as they in horror look as the tarantula leaves through the kitchen door.

Still pressed against each other, at the same time they turn to look at the other and yell at the proximity of their faces. Gally jumps from the couch and towards the kitchen's door, closing it. He turns to Aris as the lighter brunet jumps to the floor,

Gally points at him, "Never scream that high again!" he walks towards him, "Freaked me out!"

"My bad."

In that instant, the phone rings, making them both yell high and turn to look at the source of the sound. They relax as they notice it's the phone.

As Aris walks towards the phone, Gally points at him, "Okay, from now on, we'll continue with movies from the 50's, okay?"

The other nods, "Okay."

 

 

_"If human beings had genuine courage, they'd wear their costumes every day of the year, not just on Halloween." - Douglas Coupland._


	25. R-E-S-P-E-C-T Find Out What It Means to Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy November, everyone!

_"And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course." Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet._

 

Minho's parents had leave on the first week of November but they had told him they would return for Christmas. Currently the gang was at school, just after lunch time. Thomas and Newt were already over their classes, waiting for the bell to ring. Minho must probably be with Sonya, maybe walking her to her class. Alby had felt sick so he stayed at home, but Gally had told him he would bring over his homework. Teresa was over the floor at the hallways, sitting Indian style with several papers over her lap. Gally was sitting beside her, waiting for her to give him her History notes.

He looked around the hallway, at the boys and girls walking towards their classes, some others were at their lockers, others were talking. He sighed,

"Hey, don't do that. I'm trying to find the notes, okay?" told him the raven girl.

"Sorry, it wasn't for that." he looks at the other side of the hallway and something caught his attention.

He saw Aris leaning on his back against the lockers, talking with a tall guy with black hair. The guy was in front of him, talking and making Aris laugh.

"Who's that guy?" he asked nodding at the end of the hall.

Teresa looked at the direction he had nodded and looked back at her notes, "Aris' boyfriend."

Gally looks at her, blinking a few times, "He's gay?"

"What a square mind you have, my friend. Pansexual, actually. He used to have a girlfriend back where he lived but-"

"Rachel."

She nods, "Yeah. How did you-- Okay, forget it." she shakes her head, "Stupid question. You know too much about him I'm surprised you're not his boyfriend."

That made something inside the dirty blonde move. He didn't knew what it was, so he shook it off.

"Here it is!" said Teresa, taking out three papers from her binder, "There you go." she gives them to Gally.

"Thanks," he grabs them and stands up, "Now, if you excuse me, I have to run and copy this." he starts running, "Thank you!"

"No problem!" she started picking up her stuff and once standing up, she turned to her locker put the papers there, but unfortunately they fell from her grasp and all over the floor, "Great."

She sighs, letting down her satchel and kneeling over the floor, picking up the sheets. Some were on the same pile in the center, but others were scattered around her, so she leaned forward, still on her knees to reach out for the papers. She didn't noticed that when she leaned forward, she ended on all fours.

That's when she heard it. A catcall. Still on that position, she turns her head to the side to see Garrett approaching her with a shit-eating grin.

"Hey, there." she ignores him and grabs her papers. She feels his eyes on her but she doesn't let that to bother her, "Looking good, Agnes." as she accommodates her papers he continues, "Quite a position you are, huh? How would you like a spanking?"

She stands up, clutching the papers to her chest, "How'd you like a punch in the nose?"

As she turns to her locker, he scoffs, "Do you always have to be so... vulgar?"

"I don't know. What's your excuse?" she tries to do it fast. The bell rang moments ago and the halls were empty now, everyone at their classes. She didn't wanted to be here alone with this jerk. Just as she's about to close her locker, she feels a hand on her back.

"Don't touch me." she tries to turn around and leave but Garrett grabs her by the wrist. Looking at him, she tugs but his hand closes around her arm, "Let go. I said-

_"Let go."_

They turn to look at Minho a few steps away from them, looking fiercely at Garrett, "She said let go."

The blonde grins and opens his hand, releasing Teresa, "As you wish." and he walks past the Asian, bumping against him with his shoulder and leaving.

"Yeah. Thanks," she rubs her wrist and walks towards him, "Aren't you late for class?"

"Aren't you?" he says grinning. She smiles and shoves him, "Come on. We have Biology; Mr. Gallaraga will let us come in a little late." she nods. Minho leans down and grabs her satchel, and the two of them walk towards their class.

 

* * *

 

After school ended, Gally drove towards his house. He parked his aunt's van and then entered the house. As he opened the door he called "Are you still alive?" and found Alby sitting over the kitchen, covered in a blanket and talking over the phone. He turned to the entrance of the house,

He nods the dirty blonde's way, "Gally arrived. Hold on a minute," he puts the phone away, "Hey, man. How was school?"

"Boring." he closes the door, "Brought your homework." and shakes his schoolbag in the air.

"Thanks."

Gally walked towards the kitchen, "You shouldn't be up, you should be resting. Who are you talking to?"

"Ben." when the dirty blonde grins as he passes beside him, Alby hits him on the back of his head, "He's telling me how was the Math test."

"Aha," Gally ignored him as he opened the fridge and took out the juice jar.

"I'll put him on speaker." he presses a button and puts the phone on the table, "Ben, babe, please tell me something I want to hear."

_"You're a statuesque god of sculpted chocolate thunder."_

Alby grins, "Something I don't already know."

Gally groans as he puts the jar on the table, "God, first Newt and Thomas, now you two. Who's next?"

Alby shrugs, "Maybe you. Or maybe Aris."

That rang a bell on Gally's mind. He clears his throat, "Well, now that you mention it..." the dark skinned guy raises an eyebrow. Gally ignores it and leans over the table, right at the phone. "Ben, by any chance do you know Aris' boyfriend?"

_"Dan? Yeah, he's a good guy."_

"Yeah?"

_"Yeah. He's handsome, smart, goody two-shoes. Why'd you ask?"_

Gally nods, even thought he couldn't be seen by the other, "Nothing special." he pats Alby's shoulders, "I'm gonna take a shower. Bye, Ben!" he grabs his schoolbag and goes upstairs.

Alby stays at the kitchen, the phone still over the table. After the door of a room is heard closing, Ben talks again,

_"What was that about? Is he worried about Aris or something?"_

"Nothing like that." says the dark skinned guy smirking. He hears Ben humming.

_"20 bucks they get together at the end of the year."_

Alby snorts, "I think after New Year, starting January."

_"Oh, honey. You're on."_

 

* * *

 

Teresa was at the library, accommodating the bookshelves. An old, bearded man was talking over the phone a few steps away from her, just next to the armchairs they had for people to seat and read sometimes. He was her boss' husband. He was a nice man, good father and by the stories her boss told her, an excellent lover. _Ugh_. Too much information. He was well-educated just like her boss. And he had a special liking for Egyptian things, such as literature.

"And I'm telling you that as the chief deity of the Egyptian Empire, Amun-Ra also came to be worshipped outside of Egypt." he looks at Teresa and rolls his eyes, obviously tired of whoever he was talking to over the phone. Teresa laughed, "In Ancient Libya and Nubia." he sighs, "I'm gonna take this to my office, alright?" and with that he turned around and disappeared into the back room.

Teresa stands there alone, putting the books over the shelves when a familiar voice startled her,

_"Stop naming your kids 'Martin', for God's sake!"_

Teresa frowns and puts the book on its place before walking to the other side of the bookshelves. She finds Minho standing there, holding a book,

"Hey,"

"Hey." he looks at the book in his hands, "Oh, I was just eyeing a book about a thirteen year-old boy whose family tradition will kill him." he puts the book back in its place, "So, where's Aris?"

"Today's his day off."

"Oh." he looks around.

She clutches the books she's holding, "Don't get me wrong, but what are you doing here?"

"Just passing by. See how you two were. Well, in this case, how you were."

She smiles, "I'm fine. But I need to get back to work. My boss- well, my boss' husband is in the other room."

"Oh, okay. Maybe I can help-

He's interrupted when his phone rings. He takes it out and sees the screen: Sonya.

"Who is it?"

Minho looks up and opens his mouth to answer, "It's..." he eyes his phone and then up again, "a friend." she nods, "I have to go. I, uh, was going to see my..."

"Friend?"

"Yeah, that." he puts his phone in his pockets, "I'll see you when you get to the apartment."

"Yeah, I'll see you there."

He nods and turns to leave, walking towards the door and exiting the place. Teresa watches him leave, and once out of her sight she lets out a sigh. She goes back to the bookshelf she was, near the book cart. She notices the books are the ones at the top of the bookshelf, so she pulls over the big wooden ladder.

She climbs onto the ladder, up until the top, several books on her hands. She starts putting them on their place when out of the nowhere, the ladder starts trembling. She grabs firmly onto it, but it only makes it move more. She separates an almost falls on her back, but she manages to grab the ladder again, but that movement makes the ladder to start leaning over the left. Fearing for her life, Teresa manages to jump over the bookshelf as she sees the ladder falling over the cart, tossing it to the floor and then landing beside it. She stays there, hanging from the shelves, her feet far from the floor. She sighs,

_'Great. Just great. What's next?'_

She hears a creak sound and her eyes widen. She looks at the shelf she's gripping and how it starts trembling slightly.

"Oh, no. No, no, no--"

But then the shelve she was holding onto broke and she fell with a thud, all the books from that and two more shelves scattered all over the floor. Fortunately she covered her head. Standing up from the floor, she looked at the disaster. The ladder beside the destroyed cart, books everywhere and a broken bookshelf.

"I'm dead."

And as it seemed that karma was a bitch, her boss' husband came from the back of the library after he finished his call and stopped at seeing the disaster. Teresa bit her lip as his eyes widen,

"Oh, look at this! Sons of the pharaohs!" he approaches Teresa, carefully not stomping over the books, "Give me frogs, flies, locusts, anything but YOU! Compared to you the other plagues were a joy!" he says standing right in front of her.

"I-I am so very sorry. It was an accident!"

"My darling girl, when Ramses destroyed Syria, that was an accident. You are a catastrophe!" the dark haired girl sighed, "But I think nobody's perfect. Clean this up and then you may leave."

"Yes, sir."

He turns around and walks towards the door, leaving the raven girl alone. Teresa looks at the books one more time and sighs. _'I hope the guys are having a much better night than me.'_

 

* * *

 

At night over the Hale house, Thomas and Newt were over the brunet's room watching a movie. They were over his bed, Newt resting on his back over the pillows and Thomas resting his head over his chest. His long fingers were playing with brown locks while watching the movie.

As the movie went on, Thomas looked up to see Newt. The blonde felt being observed, so he looked down, his eyes meeting Thomas',

"Hey,"

Newt smiles, "Hey, you. What are you thinking?"

"How come I'm so blessed to have someone as beautiful as you by my side?"

"Tommy!" he chuckles as he moves, making Thomas sit up. He pauses the movie.

"I'm serious! Every time I'm around you I just want to hug you, or touch you," the blonde just stares at him, "And I want to kiss you all the time and I just--!" he groans.

"Then kiss me." says Newt leaning towards the brunet.

Thomas looked at him and he could feel himself getting hot, so he leaned forward as well. Their lips brushed and both pulled back only an inch because the sheer heat they caused. But being teenagers they couldn't keep away for too long and so their lips melted as they kissed.

Thomas slowly pushed the blonde down into the bed, which earned him a moan of approval, then Newt wrapped his arms tightly around his neck. Thomas was so glad his dads weren't home right now. Nipping at his lower lip Newt gasped in surprise and the brunet's tongue pushes its way into his mouth.

" _God_ , Tommy!" came Newt's panty voice from between their lips.

Feeling brave, the brunet sneaked a hand under Newt's shirt and his hand made contact with soft skin. He felt the blonde start to squirm as their kiss became intense and more passionate. His mouth moved from his lips to his neck; Newt's hands clutched at his back.

"T-Tommy..." he stared at the ceiling and then tugged at the brunet's shirt, "Bloody hell-- _stop!_ "

With sorrow, Thomas stops kissing his neck and removes his hand from under the shirt. He quickly sits back, allowing Newt to sit.

"Wh-what' wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

Newt had his cheeks flush, "No, no, Tommy. That's not it." god, his voice was a little broken and sounded so sexy, "I, um, don't wanna go too fast. Not that I don't like it! It's just... well, you know." he looks around the room nervous. "Maybe take it slow? I don't know if you understand what I mean, I--"

Thomas clears his throat, "No, it's okay. I-I understand."

"Really?"

"Yeah. If you're not ready, you're not ready. I'll wait." he looks firmly into his eyes, "I'll wait for you, no matter how much time it takes."

Newt smiles softly, "Thank you, Tommy." he gives him a quick but sweet kiss on the cheek. In that moment, his phone rings, "Oh, I'll go outside. Come back in a minute," he grabs it and exits the room. Thomas hears him answering.

He sits on the edge of his bed, his feet touching the floor, and looking around his room nonchalantly, he looks down at his crotch area where a tent is visible.

"Stay." he says still looking at it, "Good boy. Now, I saw serious, okay? You heard me. We're gonna wait for him." he looks at the door, "No matter how much time it takes." groaning, he falls on his back over his bed.

 

* * *

 

The next day they didn't had classes, (something about checking the pipes of the bathrooms) but that didn't stopped Minho from waking up early. The next morning Minho was having breakfast at the kitchen counter when out of the nowhere Thomas enters his apartment, wearing a sweaty grey shirt and long black pants, holding a basketball ball in hand. He walks fast behind Minho and goes to the kitchen.

"Thomas." the other one stops and looks at him, "It's only 7 a.m. What are you doing up?"

Thomas walks towards him, "Oh, look here. I've been up for hours, dude. I swam like 20 laps in the pool... I went down shot some hoops, jogged around the track a half dozen times. Oh, and I waxed your car for you, too." he says giving the ball to Minho, running towards the fridge.

Minho smirks looking at the ball, "No nookie last night, huh?" Thomas glares at him, closing the fridge with a milk carton on hand.

"You're a horrible human being."

Minho shrugs, "I try to do my best." as the brunet pours a glass of milk, he continues, "So? What happened?"

"I'm not gonna tell you."

He takes a spoonful of his cereal, "Oh, please! I promise I won't tell a soul!" he then makes an 'X' over his heart.

Thomas drinks his milk and thinks about it; he sighs and speaks, "Yesterday after school, I was with Newt at my room. My dads weren't home, so-

"You two decided to make out."

"I'll see you tomorrow, Min." he said as he walked fast behind Minho in an attempt to leave, but the other stretched a hand, stopping him.

"No, no! Sorry, I was an ass." he says chuckling. Thomas crosses his arms mad, "Continue, please." he motions him to sit over the couch and continue.

Thomas does so, walking towards the couch with Minho behind him, and they both sit (Minho over the arm of the couch) and he continues, "So... as we were... you know," the Asian wriggles his eyebrows, chewing his cereal, "The kiss became a little heated and... I lifted his shirt and touched his skin. Then he asked me to stop."

"And did you?"

"No, you dick. I made him have sex with me, and now I'm confessing my crime to you." he throws the Asian a cushion, "Of course I did! Who do you take me for?!"

"Well, Thomas. I never thought to live long enough to see the day you could actually keep it in your pants." he smiles, "Kudos!" he takes another spoonful, "No, really. Other guys would have snapped at their partner for that. Others would have cheated if they didn't had sex. I'm proud you did the right thing."

"Thanks."

"And also if you keep behaving, when the time comes and you two finally have sex, he will let you use him like a napkin."

"I'm not coming back here. Ever."

"Yes you will."

"No, I won't. But in the meanwhile..." he stands up, "Can I use your bathroom? When I woke up I didn't went."

"Be my guest."

Thomas nods and goes to the bathroom. He enters, closing the door behind him. As Minho sits straddling the arm of the chair, he hears Thomas' voice,

_"Min?"_

"Yeah?"

_"There's a bra in your bathroom."_

"Yeah?"

Thomas exits the bathroom, staying near the door, looking directly at the Asian, "There's a bra in your bathroom." he repeated.

"I know."

"Aren't you gonna do something about it?"

"Like what?"

Thomas shrugs, "Move it somewhere else."

"Are you crazy, Thomas? I'm not gonna touch Teresa's bra! You do it!"

Thomas' eyes widen, " _Me?!_ This is your place! You do it!"

"Why me?! You're the one who brought it into conversation in the first place!"

"I'm not gonna do it! You do it!"

Minho stands up, putting the bowl down, "Why don't we just leave it there until Teresa comes back."

"Okay." he frowns, "By the way, were is she?"

 

* * *

 

Teresa and Aris came from Aris' dance class that had started at 6:00 a.m. They were dressed in comfortable clothes, such as half leg length leggings, a [Nike grey signal shirt](https://kickz.akamaized.net/uk/media/images/p/600/nike-WMNS_SIGNAL_T_SHIRT-grey_black-1.jpg) (Teresa) and a black with white stripes and [#85 shirt](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/4126p1CB-jL._SY445_.jpg) (Aris). They were walking down the street, talking about the class.

"Your dance class was so fun! And your teacher is such a good person; allowing me to participate."

"I told you."

She shakes him as they cross the street, "Why didn't you told me sooner? I could have come so you weren't alone! Or does Dan come over and watch you?"

Aris shakes his head, "He can't. He has football practice every day after school. That's when I have classes. Today was a special class."

"Oh. Well, he's losing his chance to see you in tights and covered in sweat."

"Oh, yeah. What every guy wants. Their boyfriend all sweaty and stinky." he answers with sarcasm, gaining a playful shove from the raven girl, "Okay, we're here." he says once they're standing in front of a big restaurant.

Teresa looks up and sees the name of the place,

" _'The White Orchid'_? Flattery will get you nowhere, Jones." she says, making the lighter brunet laugh as he opens the door, "What are we doing here? I can't even afford to pee in a place like this. Much less actually eat here." she says as they enter.

"Relax, it's under control. My uncle's the owner." he looks around and smiles, pointing at the front, "There."

A tall, dark haired man comes from behind the counter, holding the phone to his right ear.

"No, you didn't do that, did you? So what did you do?" as he hears the person on the other line, Teresa and Aris walk towards the counter, "Of course she's mad." he looks at them as Teresa sits on the stool, "What? Hold on." he separates from the phone and hugs Aris.

Aris goes to sit and points at the raven girl, "This is Teresa."

She smiles and waves at him, "Hi,"

He smiles, "Hi, Teresa. Nice to meet you." he frowns again, "Why wouldn't she be mad?" as he continues talking he takes out two plates and an ice cream container. He serves them two balls and puts the plates in front of them, "Well, there's only one thing you can do: Flowers."

Teresa and Aris start eating the ice cream, looking at the man. Aris whispers _'my uncle knows about women'_ , making the raven girl nod.

"In my opinion, roses always work, always."

She turns to Aris and whispers, "He doesn't actually believe that, does he?"

Aris' uncle glances at them like he had heard her, but then he turns around, "Call me tomorrow and let me know how it worked out. Bye." he hangs up and turns to them, "Yes, I do believe that. Don't you?"

Teresa looks at him, "That flowers always work?"

"Yeah."

Teresa frowns, "Not if the guy's a jerk. The flowers aren't going to change anything. Flowers are just flowers, right?" she licks her spoon.

Aris' uncle turns to look at Aris, "Wow, your friend's so cynical."

"She doesn't believe in romance."

The man hummed and turned around, talking to one of the baristas. Aris turned to Teresa,

"So, anything new?"

Teresa nodded, "Actually, yeah. Yesterday at school, Gally saw Dan with you and asked about him."

"Really? And what did you told him?"

Teresa shrugs, licking her spoon, "He just asked who he was. He was surprised when I told him he was your boyfriend."

"Sorry, I ran out of my business cards." she rolls her eyes, "But you would think he would have guessed something like that. I mean, we did slept together." he said the last sentence in low voice.

"Easy, boy, you don't have to scream." he shoves her playfully and she does it back, ending with both of them laughing.

 

* * *

 

Even though they didn't had classes, they still had their extracurricular activities in the afternoon, so they had to go to school. Currently Minho and Thomas were inside a classroom after they had finished their training. Minho was talking as the brunet heard him,

"And then he told me that he could run faster than me. I mean, that guy can't even give more than three steps before falling onto the ground, haha. I mean, what does he-" he stops mid-sentence when he noticed Thomas wasn't paying attention. He was looking around the room, stamping his feet at the floor impatiently. Knowing why he was in that state, he sighs before saying seriously, "You're so sexually frustrated, _I'm_ getting sexually frustrated."

Thomas looks at him, then at his feet and then at Minho, "Sorry." he stops his feet.

"It's fine, I've been there."

"Really?"

Minho snorts while saying "No."

Thomas groans and hits his head onto the desk. In that moment appears Teresa, poking her head through the door. Minho sees her and waves at her; she walks towards them,

"Hey, guys."

"Hey," they both answered.

Teresa sits on the desk beside them, her legs dangling. Thomas still had his head resting over the desk, "What is it, Tom? Didn't you got to bop your baloney?" she asked as she grabbed one of the cookies Minho had on his desk.

Thomas' eyes widen as he looks at Teresa. Then he looks at Minho, who is trying to act casual.

"You promised not to tell!"

"Well, Hitler promised not to invade Czechoslovakia, Thomas. Welcome to the real world."

Thomas looked like he was going to strangle the Asian, so Teresa cut in, "It's fine, Tom. You're with your friends."

"Yeah!" said Minho patting his shoulder, "Look at the bright side. and today is a wonderful day!"

In that moment a loud sound is heard and outside, the window looked wet: it started raining.

Teresa looks at the windows and huffs, standing up, "Great, it's raining, Aris already left and my car is still in the workshop."

"You want a ride?" asked Minho.

"No, it's okay. I'll take the bus, so don't worry." as she speaks she takes out a blue hoodie from her satchel and puts it on.

Looking at the clock, Minho says "Is the Art class done already? I'm starving." and eats another cookie.

Teresa snorts, "Yeah, it shows."

"I don't know. Maybe. I told Newt we would be here." says Thomas. There were another three students in that classroom, but they were at the corner and talking with each other.

Teresa puts a hand over his shoulder, "Well, I'm sure when he finishes, he'll come here." she smiles and then sighs, "Now, if you ladies will excuse me, I have three buses to catch." she pulls her hood up, covering her head and leaves the classroom.

Minho turns to the front and raises his eyebrows, "I bet she catches them by hand." Thomas snorts and pushes him as he chuckles.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting from this chapter, we're back to the normal updates (every Friday or Saturday).


	26. Life Is Colorful

After classes ended, at Art class Teresa, Newt and Aris were sitting on their own stool, painting on the canvas in front of them. When the teacher excused herself for a moment, the whole class was left alone. Some continued painting, some others began resting, and talking with each other,

"Finally. My hand hurts." said Teresa putting the brush away. She turns to Newt, who was beside her, "How's your going, Newt?"

"Fine, actually."

"Can I see?" the blonde thinks for a moment and then shakes his head, chuckling, "What? That's unfair!"

"He doesn't want you to tell someone." said Aris behind them, in an angle in which he could see perfectly the blonde's painting. Newt blushed as he covered his canvas with a blanket.

Teresa puts a hand on her hip, "Aren't you gonna tell me? You're supposed to be my best friend."

"Not telling."

"Can I see yours?"

"Sure."

Both Teresa and Newt stand up and walk towards him, standing behind him and looking at the painting,

Teresa's mouth opens in a 'o' shape, "Wow. Aris, that's... wow."

"Really? It's not too-

"Are you kidding? This is... wow."

"Really?"

Newt nods, "Yeah. It's amazing. And it's not even done yet."

"Thanks." as they stare at his canvas, he looks at the door where a brunet guy pokes his head in the room, "Oh, boyfriend at 2 o'clock."

Newt -and also Teresa- look up at the door as Thomas enters the classroom. Newt smiles, "Hey,"

Thomas smiles too, "Hey."

"What are you doing here? Don't you have training?"

Teresa nods, "Yeah, is it over?"

"Naah, I sneaked out before the coach could see me." he kisses the blonde on the cheek.

Teresa pouts comically, "And what about me?" the brunet rolls his eyes but kisses her too.

Thomas turns to Aris, "You want one too?"

"Sorry. Taken."

Thomas shrugs, "So? What are you doing?"

"We're looking at Aris' painting." answered Teresa as she nodded at his canvas.

Thomas looks at it too, his eyebrows shot up, "Wow. I-It's really... wow."

Aris stares at him, "You don't get it, right?"

"No, actually no."

Both Aris and Teresa roll their eyes and chuckle. Thomas ignores them and turns to Newt,

"Is your painting done?"

"Not until December."

"Really? Is it really that complicated?"

"No. We have to finish it in December, that's what the teacher said."

"Then I have to wait one more month to finally see the painting? Okay, I can wait. I'm sure it's worth the wait."

"Trust me. It is." mutters Aris behind them, making the blonde blush. Their atmosphere is broken when Minho's angry voice is heard through the halls,

_"You shuckface, where are you?! The coach's gonna kill me if I don't find you!"_

"Gotta go!" he kisses Newt's cheek and runs out of the classroom from the back door before Minho appears on the other door.

"Is he here?" he asks as he approaches the other three.

Teresa tilts her head, "Is who here?"

"Thomas."

"Tom?"

"Yes." he waits for the girl to say something but she doesn't, "So?"

" _'So?'_ what?"

"Is he here?"

"Is who here?"

Minho is about to explode when he notices the raven girl's face. He sighs, pinching his nose, "He already left, right?"

"What was your first clue?" she asks, having fun with him.

Minho tries to look mad but he grins. He runs to the other door -where Thomas had ran- and exited the classroom. In that moment the teacher came back and their class continued.

 

* * *

 

After Art class ended, everyone except Thomas and Newt leaved. The blonde had offered the teacher to stay and put everything in its place. Teresa grabbed her satchel and put it on her shoulder, turning to the brunet guy,

"You sure you don't want to come, Tom?"

"Nah, it's okay. I'll stay and help Newt."

"Alright." she walks towards the door, "Don't do any pervert things in here, okay? We don't want someone to catch you." she chuckles as she exits the room, passing beside Newt who entered the classroom with a bucket and towels.

Once Teresa was gone, the blonde frowned, "Why would someone catch us? What would we be doing?"

"Ehh," Thomas shakes his head, "Nothing. It's just Teresa being Teresa, you know."

Newt nodded, seemingly believing him. He went to the teacher's desk and putted down the bucket and towels, "Okay, so first we have to put all the things, brushes, lids, cans, away. Then we clean wherever there's a paint stain, and then we're ready to go." he turns and is about to begin when he turns to Thomas again, "You sure want to spend your day off here? At school? Cleaning a classroom?"

Thomas shrugs, "Yeah, it's not like I had any plans, you know?" he putted his backpack down, "Besides, I get to spend some time with you."

Newt smiles, "Well, aren't you a super dork?" he leans forward and gives Thomas a kiss, "Now, let's get started."

Half hour later, there were just a few more things to do before they finished and could leave. As Newt was at the other side of the classroom, Thomas was near the windows, moving carefully the canvas to try to clean. He was moving away when a painting caught his attention.

" _Wow_. That's amazing."

Newt turned around and saw the canvas he was looking at ([x](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NyeEn9Vt2HQ/hqdefault.jpg)). He smiled and continued putting the things inside the box, "It is, right? It's pretty easy, actually." he walked towards him.

Thomas looked at him, "H-how do they do that?"

"It's all in the wrist y'know." he says making a up and down move but stops when Thomas starts laughing. He frowns, not understanding why he was laughing when it dawned on him, his face flush red, "Geez, Tommy, that's so not what I meant!" he playfully shoved Thomas as he chuckled. With a smile on his face, he turned to the glass with brushes inside over the window and took one. It dripped with blue paint. Where was the lid of this thing?

As Newt had his head turned to the other side and seemed to be thinking something, Thomas noticed some stains of paint his hands, "Where are the towels you brought?" he asked turning to Newt.

"I don't know. There must be one over there." he didn't noticed he still had the brush on his hand when he pointed at Thomas; he looked at him with his mouth open in regret, looking at the blue paint that adorned Thomas' face. The brunet had his eyes closed, a few drops over them. He opened them and looked at Newt, who covered his mouth while standing up, "Oh, I'm sorry... I didn't meant to--" he coughed, "Although, it looks nice."

"Oh yeah?" he asked in a sarcastic tone, raising his eyebrows.

Newt nodded, trying not to be embarrassed, "That's art. You didn't know?"

"Yeah?" the blonde nodded again, pursuing his lips to hide his laugh, "Okay." Thomas brushed his nose as he grabbed the red paint can and approached the blonde, "Now, let me show you how a real artist does it."

Newt's eyes widen, he raised his finger, pointing at the brunet, "No, Thomas. Don't you bloody dare--" he felt the brush passing over his cheek, his eyes wide open as the same as his mouth, looking at the other guy.

Thomas took a step back, looking satisfied, "There. Beautiful."

They stayed still, staring at each other for a couple of seconds before they launched at each other, brushes painting whatever they could touch. Laughter filled the classroom for a few minutes, as did the sound of sneakers running around. At the end, they dropped the brushes and then they fell over the floor. They stayed there, looking at the ceiling until Thomas sat with his knees to his chest, and arms resting over them; Newt sat with his legs to the side, looking at the brunet.

Newt had his face covered in red; his lips looked plumper than they already did. His blonde hair, as well as his shirt and his jeans were stained with red too. Thomas, on the other side, had half-face painted in blue, some locks of hair too, but his shirt and jeans were completely ruined.

Thomas smiled, "You look like one of Jackson Pollock's paintings."

"I'm more impressed that you know who he is than the fact that we didn't painted the windows or anything else." at the same time they look around; it was true. Just some dots on the floor, but not too visible.

"I think we made more mess to clean up. Also our clothes are ruined."

"Yeah," the brunet turns to look at Newt, "Sorry I painted you red." he says looking sheepishly.

"I'm sorry I painted you blue."

Thomas smiles, pointing with his arm at each other, "Wanna make purple?"

Newt smiles and nods, leaning closer until their mouths are pressed into a deep yet love full kiss. Yep. It had been worth to spend the afternoon at school.

 

* * *

 

"All right! Very good, class! Next session we'll continue with this, okay? Have a good day!"

The instructor then clapped and dismissed the class. As Aris' dance class went to retrieve their things, drink some water and talk with each other, the lighter brunet stretched a little while on the center of the room. Two girls were beside him, talking about something that made Aris laugh when he saw a tall, dirty blonde guy entering the place. Gally looked around, as if he were trying to find something or someone.

Aris said goodbye to the girls and walked towards him, "Hey, you."

The other turns around, "Hey."

Gally shrugs, "A little raven told me."

"Teresa." says Aris, knowing she and Dan were the only ones who knew the location. "Wait. Did you just really said _'raven'_ because of her hair color?"

Gally stays still and quiet for almost a minute, which Aris takes as a yes. He chuckles and wipes his face.

"So? What'd you think?"

Gally nods, "It was great. Well, the part that I could watch, at least." he crosses his arms, "Didn't knew you had it in you."

Aris grabs his bottle of water, "It's nice. It's fun. Also it's a good way to make exercise." and drinks.

"I must say when you said dance classes, I imagined you with a tutu."

Aris' eyes widen and he spits his water all over Gally in laughter. The dirty blonde guy stares at him, looking at his shirt and at the lighter brunet.

"I'm so sorry!" with his towel he begins wiping his shirt, "I-I-"

"It's okay."

"I couldn't hold my laughter."

"Yeah, I noticed."

As Aris wipes his shirt with one hand, his other hand rested over the dirty blonde's shoulder. As the water had also sprinkled over his face, it was dripping from his chin onto his shirt, so Aris moved to his face. He carefully cleaned his face and strands of hair, being perfectly concentrated in his task. They hadn't noticed how close they were, almost chest to chest, their faces inches away. Gally just stared at the lighter brunet, feeling his hand going from his shoulder to his chest, resting there. Aris felt his eyes and so he looked into the dirty blonde's eyes, holding his look. They stayed like that for almost a minute when Aris blinked a few times, taking a step away,

"I-I'll go get another towel. Stay here." with that he turned around and went to a room at the corner.

Gally stood there, looking around as the rest of the people leaved. He let go of the air he didn't knew he was holding in. One voice startled him, "Hey," a girl almost their age approached him. She had blonde hair and green eyes.

"Hi."

She extends her hand, "I'm Amanda. Friend of Aris', occasionally dance partner."

"Oh, hi." he takes her hand.

"I must say Aris talks about you all the time."

Gally raises an eyebrow and smirks, "Really?"

"Yeah. It's so nice to finally meet his boyfriend."

Gally's eyes widen and his jaw drops. _What?_

"Oh, well, I have to go!"

"I-I'm not...!" but the girl jogs her way out. Gally stands there dumbfounded, his eyes still wide when Aris returned.

"Hey, brought the towel. What was that?"

Gally turns to him, "Why does everyone keep thinking I'm your boyfriend?"

Aris shrugs, giving him the towel, "Don't know. I talk about Dan while in here, and then you appeared. People make mistakes."

"Yeah, I noticed." he says as he wipes his face, "But doesn't your boyfriend come here to see you? At least to pick you up?"

Aris starts packing his things in his bag, "He doesn't have time. But it's okay. At least you and Teresa come."

"Would he mind? If I come here," the lighter brunet looks at him, "Your boyfriend."

"Why would he mind?"

Gally kicks the floor with his feet, "Does he know about..." he stops, but leaves a pause for Aris to understand.

"No. Well, yes but no."

"How's that?"

"He knows I've had sex before. But he doesn't know with whom." he looks at the floor, "And I would appreciate it if it stays that way."

"No, no. I get it. I wouldn't be too happy knowing that my boyfriend is still hanging around with the guy who he had sex." he frowns at his own words, "I mean, not that I wouldn't trust him. Or that I wouldn't let him choose his friends. He could do anything he wants." he frowns again, "Wait, that's not good either."

Aris, even though he enjoyed see Gally making a fool of himself, broke his moment. He grabbed his bag and put the strap on his shoulders, "Come on, let's go before you try to understand how airplanes manage to stay in the air." he says pulling the dirty blonde towards the exit. As they walk through the door, he says "You _are_ thinking about the airplanes, don't you?"

"No?"

Aris snorts, "You big oaf."

 

* * *

 

Teresa was reading a book over the couch at Minho's apartment. Someone beside her mumbled something, making her stop reading and look at the person on the other side of the couch. The Asian boy was currently asleep over the couch; he was on his back, his right leg dangling off the couch and his right hand resting over his chest. He was sleeping profoundly, his evenly breathing relaxing Teresa as she read.

Then, out of the nowhere, Minho sat up in the couch, staring blankly at Teresa and asked "Where the fuck is all the money?!" the raven girl stayed still, staring at the Asian boy; seconds later the other in a more calm tone then said "Ah, right, at the bank." and then went back to sleep normally.

Teresa had to muffle a laugh to not wake him up. She putted her book away and stood up, moving towards him. Kneeling at his head level, she stares at him deeply sleeping. Slowly -and after looking around, even thought she's alone- she stretches a hand to Minho's face and moves away a few strands of hair from his face.

"Nice dreams, you big goof."

She stands up and walks towards the door, having her jacket on her left hand as she opens the door. But she's surprised as when she opens the door, standing in front of her is Sonya,

"Oh. Hi,"

The blonde girl smiles, "Hey. Is Minho here?"

"Yeah, but he's sleeping right now." she moves aside, "You can wait for him to wake up, I was just leaving."

"Oh, thanks." she enters the apartment, "Bye."

Teresa nods and leaves. Sonya closes the door and walks towards the couch were Minho is asleep. She smiles as she takes off her coat and leaves it over the coffee table. Once standing next to the Asian, she kneels beside him and caresses his face. Minho moves in his sleep; he seemed to lean on touch, as if he wanted to feel it more. Just as Sonya was about to get up and go for a glass of water, a mumble escaped his mouth,

_"...resa..."_

Sonya frowned, thinking he's waking up and is asking for something. She puts a strand of hair behind her ear and asks, "Sorry, what was that? I didn't heard you." she asked with a smile. He turned in his sleep and repeated more clearly,

_"...Teresa..."_

Sonya's smile fell. Minho, who was still asleep, turned around, his back at her and snored. He didn't made another sound in the next 10 minutes. Sonya sat on the spot Teresa had been and looked around the apartment, not very sure what to do now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of short chapter, but I promise the next one will be the normal length!!


	27. Roses Are Red, Violets Are Not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am! And with a new chapter! Hope you like it!~  
> Warnings: Mentions of violence (?).

At the morning before school at Minho's apartment, the Asian was over the kitchen, opening the fridge, ready to grab some breakfast when something catches his nose. He sniffs again and there is it; a horrible smell. He closes the fridge's door and exhales,

"What the...?"

He opens it again and sticks his head inside, checking what could possibly be wrong. Moments later, he takes his head out and closes the door, breathing heavily.

"Well, that's definitely broken!" he adds coughing.

In that moment Teresa comes out of her room, walking in pajamas towards his direction,

She smiles, "Good morning, Min." she says as walks to the laundry room.

"Hey!" he thinks for a moment before he adds _"Roomie!"_

"Yeah, I guess we are." she exits the laundry room with a blue towel.

Minho looks at the fridge and clears his throat, "Well, now that you brought it up, our fridge is broken. We have to get a new one." he holds up a hand, "Now, I checked around and your half is $400."

Teresa snorts, " _Wha-_? I'm not paying for half of that!" she says pointing at the fridge, "I'm only staying here until I get a new apartment."

As she walks away -ready to go to the bathroom-, Minho comes out of the kitchen, "All right, now you know that the ATM will only lets you take out 300 at a time, so I'll accept the rest later."

Teresa stands in front of the bathroom door and chuckles, "You're joking, right?"

Minho snorts, batting the air at her as he smiles, "Of course I'm jokin'!" then he changes into a serious face, "I want the 400 complete."

Teresa stares at him, a funny smile over her face as she says "Thank God you're pretty." and opens the door, enters the bathroom and closes it behind her.

Minho stays there, and after a moment -instead of being offended- he flusters, smiling while crossing his arms over his chest.

 

* * *

 

Later at school, the gang (everyone except Thomas and Aris) was over the lockers, talking like they normal would do before the bell rang. Teresa, Newt, and Alby were comparing notes on yesterday's homework.

Alby shakes his head, "No, that's not it. Look," he points at his notebook, "This one is the right one."

Teresa groans, "Great. Just when I thought I was getting this class right."

Newt shakes his head, "You're wrong, Alby. That's not the answer." he takes out his notebook and puts it in front of them, "This is."

"Okay. Now I'm frustrated. Who is right?"

"I am." they said in unison.

Teresa sighs and turns to Minho, who was looking at his phone, "Hey, Min. What did you get in this question? Number twelve."

Minho looks away from his phone, "What?"

"Did you do Econ's homework?"

"We had homework?"

Gally snorts. Alby looks at him with an eyebrow up, and Teresa looked like she wanted to face-palm. Her eyes averted from his face to the side, looking at whatever was behind Minho and her face changed. Minho noticed it and -taking the opportunity to change the subject- turned around and saw Aris talking with Harriet -Sonya's best friend. But that's not what caught their attention. It was the purple black and blue swelling around his left eye: a black eye. Alby and Gally noticed them and turned too, clearly seeing why. Aris was talking and laughing normally with the girl, as if she wasn't interested in his eye. Or as if she already knew. Harriet waved at him and leaved, walking to the other side of the hall.

Aris turned to the gang and walked towards them. They all tried to look cool and normal, but they were staring at his eye. Once standing in front of them, he raised both eyebrows,

"I guess you noticed, right?"

"What happened?" asked Teresa.

Aris sighed, "In dance class a girl was trying ballet by herself, yeah? She was doing some pirouettes and then tried to do a grand battement and--" he points at his eye, "This happened instead."

_"Oww!"_ came from everyone except Gally. He didn't seemed convinced.

"Man, she must have legs of steel to leave a black-eye." said Minho.

"Yeah, she felt awful after that. Kept saying she was sorry," he shrugs, "Bad thing is I won't be able to go to the classes in one week."

"That's harsh." said Newt, "Does it hurts?"

"Naah, it happened on Saturday, so it doesn't hurt anymore. Well, just a little but it's okay." he quickly changed the subject, "Hey, did you guys studied for the Physics test?"

Minho's eyes widen, "Wait. There's a test today?!"

"Do you even go to this school?!" yells Teresa, grabbing her notes and walking away. Minho instantly followed her.

"Give me your notes! Please, please!"

Alby shook his head, "Well, guys. I have to go too. I promised Ben I would sit beside him at Math's test."

Newt nods, "Yeah, and I said to Thomas that I would help him study some stuff he didn't understood." he said waving at them.

And it leaves Gally and Aris alone. Aris walks towards his locker, followed by the dirty blonde. As he opens his locker and takes out his books, Gally looks at the halls and back at the brunet,

"Umm, that was...that was a little misleading."

"What is?"

"The lie you just told."

Aris stares at him, hand inside his locker, "What? It's the truth! A girl at my dance class accidentally hit me, ok? Nothing to worry about, so leave it alone."

"Hey, chill out. No need to get too defensive."

He slams his locker close, "Then stop asking stupid questions." and leaves, gripping his books tight. Gally stays there, frowning at how the lighter brunet had reacted.

 

* * *

At Biology hour, the class was at the laboratory for this session. They were sitting in pairs at each lab islands benches. Unfortunately for Thomas, he wasn't paired with Newt. Aris was. And they were almost at the front of the class, while Thomas was at the back. After Mr. Gallaraga explained what they had to do, he sat over his desk and started checking other classes' assignments.

Newt adjusted the microscope as Aris told him what to do, manual on hand.

"Is it ready?" asked the lighter brunet.

"Yes. What's next?"

Aris turned to their manual and started reading, "Uh, grab the microscope slides carefully and mount the specimen on them, placing them on the platform to observe."

Newt nodded and proceeded to do so, but as he grabbed the slides, one of them slips from his grasp. Trying to avoid breakage, he quickly grabs it before it touches the floor, but in the contact with his hand the thin flat piece of glass breaks and manages to cut on his skin, specifically, his hand.

" _Oh,_ _mother of--_!" he bites his lips before cursing in front of the teacher and the whole class. Whoever, it does attract the attention of everyone. Newt grabs his wrist, holding his hand up as blood start pouring from it.

Aris' eyes widen in worry, "I said carefully!"

"Is there a problem, Mr. Reed?" asked the teacher.

"Yeah, I cut myself with a microscope slide." in that instant, Thomas stood up from his stool but didn't move. He was almost at the other side of the laboratory, so he couldn't see the cut.

Mr. Gallaraga took off his glasses, "Mr. Jones, can you take Mr. Reed to the infirmary?"

Aris nodded and stood up, guiding Newt to the door, opening it and exiting the room. Seconds after they leaved, Thomas was about to make his way out too before the teacher's voice came,

"Where's the fire, Thomas?" Thomas opened his mouth, pointing at the door but the teacher interrupted him, "Mr. Reed will be fine. You can see him after the class finishes. Now sit down, Mr. Hale."

Thomas sighs frustrated and sits down as the teacher turns his back at the class. He starts tapping his feet at the floor, grabs a pencil and tries to concentrate. He wanted to go out and check on Newt but he couldn't. He would have to wait until the bell rang. Without himself noticing it, he starts tapping his pencil at the notebook too.

Garrett notices it and rolls his eyes pissed off, "Mr. Gallaraga, could you ask Thomas to take his Adderall before coming to class?" he says chuckling.

The teacher points at him, "Someday, you gonna get bitch-slapped and I'm not gonna do a thing to stop it." Garrett's smiles falls as everyone in the classroom laughs. That's why everyone loves this teacher.

 

* * *

 

At PE class, everyone were at the field, whether running or making sit ups. Gally was at the benches, resting while seeing Alby doing pushups as the rest couldn't keep up with him.

The coach blew his whistle at the ones who were running, "Come on! My grandmother has more life in her, God rest her soul. _MOVE IT!_ "

Over the benches, Gally takes a sip from his water when he saw Dan a few steps away from him, so he jogged towards him. He was Aris' boyfriend, so he might know what really happened to him.

"Hey,"

The dark haired guy turned towards him and gave him a smile, "Hey. Gally, right?"

"Yeah,"

"Yeah, Aris told me about you."

Gally coughs, "Yeah, we're friends." he licks his lips and takes the chance to talk, "Speaking of him, I saw him this morning and couldn't help but notice that he had a nasty black eye."

"Yeah."

Gally looked at him out the corner of his eyes, "So, how did he got a black eye? Got injured at his dance class?"

"Actually yes; he wasn't seeing where he was dancing, you know how he is about dance, and I think the floor was wet and... he tripped and hit himself with something. Don't remember what."

_Okay, what? He wasn't expecting this to be so easy._

"So... he tripped and hit himself?"

"Yeah, didn't he told you? Maybe he was embarrassed at telling you he tripped and that's how he got his black eye. Don't tell anyone, okay? We don't want anyone to make fun of him." he winked at him and then went to his friends.

Alby approached the dirty blonde and patted his back, "Hey, what's up? What were you talking about?"

"I just wanted to make sure of something,"

Before Alby could ask, the coach blew his whistle and everyone gathered together in a circle.

 

* * *

 

Over lunch as the rest of the gang were at the cafeteria, Gally went to the bleachers to eat his lunch and think about certain subject. There he found Teresa, her tray over her lap as she was looking at the front.

"Hey!" he called for her as he approached her side.

Teresa turned to him and smiled, "Hey, how was the Math test?"

"I would like to say easy, but I would be lying. How was the Physics test?" answered Gally as he sat.

"I would like to say the same as you, and I will because that's the truth." she said smiling.

He snorted. Teresa grinned and started eating her grapes. Looking at the field, Gally thought about Aris' black eye and glanced at the raven girl. He cleared his throat, "So... Did Aris told you anything special?"

"About what?"

He shrugs, "About his eye? Does it still hurt? Can he see clear? How did it really happened?"

"Well, he did mentioned that his eye hurt when near the window, but I guess that's why he shouldn't have sat near the-- wait. What?" she turned to him, "What'd you say?"

"You heard me."

"Wha- he already told us! A girl hit him accidentally with her feet at his dance class."

"Yeah, right. It was an _'accident'_."

She narrows her eyes, "You think someone hit him? Who?" he gives her a look, and as if they had telepathy, her eyes widened "You must be completely deranged!"

"It's the only explanation!"

"You think his boyfriend hit him?!" she holds her arms up and breathes, "Okay, listen. Aris is a big boy. He wouldn't let anyone just hit him and not do anything about it."

"Even if it's his boyfriend?"

"Please," she snorts, "I'm his best friend; he would tell me."

"People usually don't tell. Even to their best friends."

"What's with you, anyway? Why are you acting like this? Are you mad at Dan? Did you two fight? Are you jealous or something?!" she grabs her grapes and puts them inside her satchel, "What even makes you believe that?"

"His boyfriend told me a different story."

She blinks a few times, "What?"

"He said that Aris tripped at his dance class and hit himself with something."

"Maybe he was embarrassed about the truth. Would you like your friends to know that you tripped and hit yourself?"

"No, but-

"Or telling your boyfriend that a girl gave you a black eye by accident?"

"I don't have a-

"So stop saying stupid things like that, okay?" she grabs her satchel, "Aris would tell us if something like that really happened. A-and he wouldn't be with his boyfriend anymore."

"Teresa..."

"I lost my appetite." she grabs her tray and stands up, walking back to the building and leaving Gally alone.

 

* * *

 

The bell rang and Thomas practically launched himself out of his last class in search for Newt. He hadn't seen Newt since he left on Biology class. Also he hadn't been at the cafeteria nor in two other classes they shared today. Thomas was worried. Looking around, he found Aris walking towards Art class. He ran towards the lighter brunet,

_"Aris!"_

His brain ignored the way Aris jumped at hearing him yell; he was more concentrated in knowing where was Newt. Aris stopped right at a side of the door, "Hey, Thomas."

"Aris, where is Newt? Is he alright? Wha-what happened? Why did he leave? Is he okay? Wha-?"

"Wow, slow down, cowboy." Thomas takes a deep breath, "He's fine. But the nurse told him to better go home and rest. It was a deep cut."

"But he's fine?"

"Yeah. His mom came to pick him up."

Thomas sighed in relief. At least he was fine. But still he wanted to see him with his own eyes.

"Okay. Thanks, Aris." the other nodded and entered his classroom. As Thomas ran towards the school's front door, he heard his name being called.

"Hey, you shank!"

Thomas stopped and turned to see Minho jogging towards him.

"Thomas, what are you doing? You need to change, man." it must have been the way Thomas looked at Minho or the way he moved, because the Asian knew what has in his head, "Oh, no. Hell no. Thomas, the coach is gonna cut off your-

"Cover me!"

"Wha- Naa-aah. I'll be risking my ass for you."

" _Please_ , Min!"

Minho crosses his arms, "What do I win?"

Thomas' school bag drops from his shoulders, "What'd you mean 'what do you win'?! Isn't making a good deed enough for you?!" he shakes his head as soon as he finishes, "What am I talking about? You're Minho." the Asian smirked. Thomas looked back at the door and at his friend. "Okay, fine! I'll buy you dinner!"

"I want the 'Minho Super Deluxe'."

Thomas' eyes widen, _"WHAT?!"_ it was a thing between them and it involved food. Too much food. Thomas knew how much it would cost him so he groaned, "Okay, fine!"

"It's always a pleasure to make business with you."

Thomas picks up his bag, "I hate you so much right now." and turns to the door.

Minho chuckles, "I don't care." as the brunet runs to the door. Thomas flips him off and leaves.

Thomas drove to Newt's house on his bike. He arrived and quickly ran to the door, knocking a few times until he heard a faint _'coming!'_. The door opened and revealed Newt standing there in a dark grey long sleeve top and baggy pants. Thomas' eyes fell over his wound hand, which had a bandage around it. The blonde seemed surprised,

"Tommy, what are you doing here? Don't you have tracks and fields?"

"You're more important."

Newt smiled and moved aside, letting the brunet enter his house. As he closed the door and turned around, Thomas captured his lips. Cupping his face with both -even thought one was injured- hands, Newt separated them. Thomas frowned in confusion,

Newt pointed upstairs, "My mom."

_"Newt? Who was it?"_ was heard from upstairs. It was Allison. Thomas took a step aside as Allison went downstairs.

"Thomas, hi." she said with a smile as she approached him.

"Hey, Aunt Allison." they hugged, "How's it going?"

"Oh, pretty busy. And how's school?"

"Pretty busy."

She caresses Newt's hair, "So what brings you here?"

Oh shit. Oh. Shit. That's what happens to him for not thinking things through! Holy sh-- they're so dead. That's it. She's gonna know and--

"He came to bring me the homework's of the classes I missed." answered Newt calmly.

"Oh, really?" she smiled again, "That's so sweet of you." she told Thomas.

"Y-yeah, you know me." he said, trying to hide the fact that he was nervous.

Her phone rang and she looked at it, "Oh! I must go; I have an appointment and I'm almost late." she opens the door and turns to Thomas, "This is your house, feel comfortable." she blew a kiss to Newt and the closed the door. Seconds later they heard the car engine and Allison's car disappeared.

Thomas sighed in relief and turned to the blonde, "Well... That was close. Good thing you are the brains of our relationship."

"And the looks, the charisma, the voice."

Thomas hums, stepping closer, "And what does that make me?" he puts his hands on the blonde's hips.

Newt puts his arms around his neck, "Mm, I have a few ideas." he gives Thomas a quick peek on the lips, and then separate but still holding onto each other, "So how did you managed to skip your extracurricular class?"

"I asked Minho to cover me." he frowns, "But he asked for an exchange and told me he wanted the 'Minho Super Deluxe', the bastard."

Newt frowns confused, "What's the 'Minho Super Deluxe'?"

"Two medium pizzas, two hamburgers with fries inside, a subway or a taco, depending on his mood, onion rings, a sundae and Dr. Pepper."

Newt stays still, eyes wide, "And where does he plan to put all that?!"

"I have a few options for him--

"Tommy!"

"He started it!"

Half hour later, Thomas and Newt were over the blonde's couch, watching a movie. They were laying pressed beside the other; Newt's head resting over the brunet's chest and Thomas' hand playing with his unharmed hand.

Out of the nowhere, Newt remembered what he told his mom and said "Hey, did you brought my homework?"

Thomas' eyes widen, "Shit." he sits on the couch, moving Newt aside, "Let me ask Teresa if she can bring it to us." he says as he takes out his phone, but as he tries to type something, he frowned while looking at the screen "No!"

"What?"

"My phone is dying! The battery--!" he stands up.

"And where's your charger?"

"I think I left it at Minho's apartment." he groans, "I just need to go for my phone charger at Minho's place and I'll come back."

"Okay."

"I'll be as quick as possible."

"Thomas, I'll be fine. I cut my hand, not had a heart attack."

"Just checking." he grabbed his keys and exited the house, running to his bike.

 

* * *

 

Thomas entered Minho's apartment in search for his phone charger and to his surprise found the Asian boy over the couch, typing something on his laptop. Minho looked up and nodded at him,

"Hey, bro."

"Hey. You're here early."

"You are a lucky bastard. The coach had to leave for an emergency and we didn't had a session. What are you doing here? I thought you were with Newt."

 I'm just here for my phone charger. Have you seen it?"

"Yeah, Teresa found it. That woman has the nose of a bloodhound and the breasts of a Greek goddess." he stays still for a moment, staring at nothing as if he were thinking about what he just said.

Thomas raises an eyebrow, "Min?"

Minho snaps from his trance and looking shocked he clears his throat, "So, your charger."

"...Yeah."

Shaking the awkward moment off, Thomas went to the kitchen and found the charger there, over the counter. Beside it was a milk carton. Now that he thought about it, he was thirsty. Grabbing a glass, he poured some milk and drank it. His eyes widened as the horrible taste of spoiled milk went down his throat. He spat it over the sink, looking over at the milk carton. He sniffed it and yep, it was bad. So he grab the milk carton and threw it away on the trash can.

Minho's eyes widen, "What are you doing?!"

Thomas looks at him frowning, "What?"

"You threw away my milk!'

"The milk was expired!"

"You're expired!"

"I don't have time for this!" yells Thomas. He goes to grab his phone charger from the kitchen counter when Minho clears his throat,

"So anyway... how do you want to pay me?"

Thomas stops and looks around, not so sure of what to say, "I'm sorry. Is getting people poisoned by food a service you do?"

Minho chuckles, "No! No! No! For my new— _our_ new fridge!"

Thomas looks flabbergasted, "Our new fridge? Min, I don't live here."

"So what? Look, okay, suppose we were a divorced couple."

Thomas nods, "Uh-huh."

"And I got custody of the kid, right? Now suppose the kid dies and-and I gotta buy a new kid."

Thomas, not quite sure where Minho's going and is a little worried, nods, "Okay..."

Minho stares at him, making a pause before yelling "Give me $400!"

Thomas shakes his head, trying not to laugh at his friend. He turns around and with the charger on hand says "Thank God you're pretty." before walking off.

Minho stares at the door but then he smiles flattered and continues typing on his laptop, somehow proud of himself.

 

* * *

 

Over school, even thought the track and field class had leaved, the Art class had still continued. Aris approached the classroom as the last student exited; he peaked inside and saw Teresa covering her paint with a blanket before putting it on the floor, beside the others. She turned around and saw Aris,

"Hey, you didn't showed up today." she puts her hands on her hips, "What happened to you?"

Aris doesn't say anything; he just stays there at the doorframe, looking nervous.

She turns her head to the right, looking at the open cans of paint and brushes everywhere when Aris' voice knocks her out of her thoughts,

"He hit me."

Teresa -turning her head to him- stays still and frowns in confusion. She looks at her friend, not saying anything. He was looking at the floor as he sat on the stool next to hers.

He takes air, "I didn't get hurt at the dance class. Dan hit me." Teresa stares at him, mouth open. He continues talking, "He'd been having a hard week; his grades, homework, training, and work and that had him too stressed. And as I waited for him at his house one afternoon, he came from a training a-and I could tell he had had a few drinks. And he started yelling, and I tried to calm him down, and then he hit me. But as soon as it happened, I mean, right away, he was so sorry... and he started crying and begging me to forgive him."

Teresa manages to find her voice again, "Aris, you're as hard core as me, why didn't you just turn around and kick his ass?"

Aris' eyes were glassy, "I-I was shocked! He's never violent! Never has been! And he kept asking me to forgive him and I-I- didn't knew what to do."

"Aris, you need to break up with him."

He looks at her, eyes wide, "Are you crazy?! It was an accident and he said he was sorry!" he starts getting up, grabbing his satchel, "I am not going to leave him for a mistake, not matter what anyone says." Teresa is about to retort but he cuts her, "You can't tell anyone! Not Thomas or the gang! Not any soul! If you tell anyone I'll deny it." and starts walking towards the door.

"Aris, wait!"

But the light brunet had already leaved the classroom.

 

_"Love is never supposed to hurt. Love is supposed to heal, to be your haven from misery, to make living fucking worthwhile." - Mia Asher._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> T.T Don't kill me!


	28. It Takes Two to Tango

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! It's December already! I can't believe it! Okay, about the chapter:  
> I hope you like cute things like one of our couples surrounded of kids. Also one of our couples will be dancing passionately... dancing tango!  
> I couldn't come up with a better name for the chapter, so I am so original that I puted that. Yeah, I know.  
> Anyway, enjoy~

After school on Wednesday, Minho and Sonya were over the coffee shop, sitting inside on one of the tables and talking. They were waiting for Thomas to arrive, since he had drove Newt to his house.

"So you're ready for the exams next week?" she asks while taking a sip from her coffee.

"No. Nobody is. They just pretend they are but the truth is no one is ready."

Sonya played with a strand of hair, "Well, maybe we could go to my house and study together."

Minho smiled, "Yeah, I would like that." she smiled at him, "You think Teresa could join us?" her smile fell, but he didn't noticed it.

"And what about Thomas?"

"I'm sure he's going to ask Newt to help him study. Also he will ask for help in History, which I'm good but he isn't."

"Right." Sonya turned her head to the right, drinking her coffee.

"What is it?"

"Nothing, nothing. O-of course Teresa can join us. If she wants."

"Great. I'll ask her later."

Behind them at the door, Brenda enters the coffee shop and looks around. Her eyes caught Minho and Sonya and she grinned, walking towards them until she's standing behind Minho and covers his eyes, "Guess who?"

"It's either Brenda or the cold, clammy hands of death."

Not bother at all, Brenda uncovers his eyes, "Its' Brenda!" and goes to sit beside the blonde girl.

Minho lets out a deep sigh, "Damn it." Sonya nudges him to shush him.

The blonde girl turns to Brenda, "So, Brenda. How's it going?"

"Well, my brother was driving me crazy so I gave him money to go to the movies with a friend. Now I have the afternoon free. Is Thomas here with you guys?"

"No." answers Minho, "Actually, I think he's out of town."

Brenda tilts her head, "Oh?" Sonya frowns, "Really? Just in the middle of the week and before exams start?"

"...Yeah. You know him. He doesn't think things through." as the brunette girl nods and looks around, Minho takes out his phone and types to Thomas, warning him that Brenda was here. Not that she was a bad person. But she looked at Thomas like he was a baby gazelle and she a hungry lioness. _Ugh_. She always wanted to get into his pants.

"Well, it's a shame. I was hoping he would want to go somewhere since I'm free today."

Minho took a sip from his coffee, "Yeah. What a shame."

Behind them at the door, Minho sees as Thomas appears, walking toward the door with intentions to open it when his phone rings. He takes it out, looks at the screen and frowns. He looks up and inside the coffee shop; his eyes widen, turns tail and runs.

Teresa appears on the door, looking back at where Thomas had ran with a confused look. Gally was beside her, also looking at his back. She looks at the front again as she opens the door, both entering the shop.

She looks at Minho and smiles, walking towards them,

"Hey, guys."

Sonya looks up, "Hey, Teresa. Gally."

Brenda eyes her and Teresa swears she saw the brunette girl roll her eyes. Brenda stands up, "Well, I must go. Will you tell Thomas to call me anytime?" she says to Minho.

"You betcha." said Minho grinning.

Brenda grinned, said goodbye to Sonya and turned around, walking towards the door, exiting the coffee shop.

Teresa glances at the door, " _'Will you tell Thomas to call me anytime?'_ What's her number? 1-800-BIOTCH?" she says while sitting down, Gally doing the same.

"Is that why Thomas ran and climbed back to his bike?" asked the dirty blonde guy.

Minho nods, "Yes. I told him."

"Nice." said the raven girl grinning. "So what were you guys doing before she came?"

"Talking about the exams next week." answered Sonya.

As they continued with the exams topic, Gally's attention diverts from the conversation and looked around the coffee shop. Just as he was about to get into the conversation, he caught the sight of Aris sitting at the back, reading a book while eating a cookie. As Minho told something to the girls, he stood up and walked towards the lighter brunet's table.

"Hey,"

Aris looked up from his book -Murder on the Orient Express- it said on the cover, "Hey," and putted the book down.

"Didn't know you were here."

"Same."

Gally nodded at the direction he came from, "I'm over there with Teresa, Minho and Sonya, if you want to join us."

Aris glanced behind the tall guy and shook his head, "No thanks."

"Why? You're mad at someone from over there?"

"No. I'm mad at someone over here."

Gally frowned, "You mean me." it wasn't a question. Aris stared at him, not blinking once, "Is it because of what I hinted about your black eye?"

Aris puts his hands over his book, "Let me make this as _monosyllabic_ as possible. It was an accident, okay? Could you just drop it?"

"I want to help if I can."

"You want to be of use? Fine. Why don't you go get me some coffee?"

"Oh, yeah sure, how do ya take it? Black? Couple cubes of _kiss-my-ass_?"

Aris glares at him and as he is about to talk back, they are interrupted by Teresa.

"Aris. I didn't saw you here." she said with a smile.

"Yeah, just wanted to be alone while reading." he said tapping his book, still looking at them.

"Yeah, I get it. It's the same for me, but imagine living with Minho."

Gally cleared his throat, "I'll go for that coffee now."

Aris stared at him as the other turned around and went to the line, waiting for his turn to order. Teresa turned to look at Aris,

"Your eye seems a little better."

"Make up. Covers everything."

"Not everything." she sits across him. Aris looks up at her, understanding what she meant for that.

He licks his lips, "I see for Gally and his choice of words that you didn't told him."

"You told me not to say anyone. Even though every fiber of my body is telling me to do it, I won't."

"It's for the best."

"Is it?"

They stare at each other, neither of them blinking or looking away. Aris stands up and asks her to keep an eye on his stuff; then he goes to the bathroom, leaving Teresa sitting alone. Teresa sighed, looking at the floor. She was worried about her friend. She wanted to tell someone: Thomas, Minho, or Gally. But Aris would hate her. She felt a hand brushing against her arm; she looked up and saw Minho standing beside her,

"Hey, what is it?"

"Nothing, he... just needed to go to the bathroom."

"Yeah, Sonya is at the bathroom too. Not on the same bathroom, obviously, but..." he joked. Teresa tried to smile but couldn't.

Minho frowned when she couldn't see him. He noticed her a little down and he didn't wanted her to be sad. She had to be smiling, to be happy. Not like this. Looking at the line on the front, he saw Gally paying a coffee and something came to his mind. He cleared his throat,

"You know… If I run and leap at Gally, he will most certainly catch me." as he said that he turned around and yelled _"Coming in!"_ to Gally, who had a coffee on hand. Minho ran towards him, looking as the other guy just noticed him.

"NO! I'M HOLDING HOT COFFEE, _YOU SHANK!_ " yelled Gally as his eyes widen, looking at the Asian guy running towards him. Teresa looked away, closing her eyes waiting for the collision that never came. When she opened her eyes and turned to the two guys, she could see Minho in Gally's arms, grinning like a kid on a Christmas morning. Gally simply looking at the front with a grumpy face, his coffee now all over the floor, "You shucking idiot."

 

* * *

 

A few hours later over the Hale house, Thomas was laying over the couch, reading a magazine when Stiles came down the stairs. He went to the kitchen as he spoke,

"Thomas, what are you doing tomorrow?"

Thomas sits on the couch, "Having my day ruined with whatever you're about to ask me to do."

Stiles gives him a look but he shrugs it off, "Well, Mr. Smartpants, I was going to ask you if you can cover me at the hospital at the kids section."

Thomas frowns, "I thought Aunt Lydia asked for your help."

"Yes, well, Lydia asked me to do it, but I can't. So I'm asking you."

"And if I ask someone else?"

_"Thomas."_

Thomas stands up, " _Kidding!_ I'll go, don't worry." and walks to the kitchen.

"Thanks. Now I have to go to buy some food." he walks to the table and grabs his car keys, "I'll be back in an hour, okay?" Thomas nods, leaning over the counter. Stiles opens the door and, waving at his son, leaves.

As he hears the car starting, Thomas opens the fridge and takes out the juice. He pours some when his phone vibrates. He grabs it and checks it,

**_'Hey, want to do something tomorrow?' -Newt._ **

Sorrowfully, Thomas typed **_'Can't. I'll be at the hospital to take care of some kids.'_**

**_'Aww, that's so sweet, Tommy.'_ **

**_'I know.'_ **

**_'Well. I guess we can do something at Friday.'_ **

**_'I'm yearning for it ;)'_ **

Thomas went to the coach and sat when the next text came,

**_'My mom wants me to help her with dinner. See you tomorrow, Tommy.'_ **

**_'Miss you already.'_ **

**_'You dork.'_ **

Thomas grinned, **_'Yeah, but I'm YOUR dork.'_**

**_'I know.'_ **

Thomas smiled. Well, he better go upstairs and do his homework if he wants to see Newt on Friday.

 

* * *

 

The next day at school, Thomas was at the lockers taking out some books for his next class when he felt a pair of hands covering his eyes. He thought it was Newt, so he smiled,

"Hey," he turned around, taking the hands off and saying, "Wasn't expecting you so soo-" he stop when he saw Brenda behind him, smiling at him. "Oh, hey, Brenda."

 

"Hey, Thomas. Did Minho told you to call me?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, sure." he continued to take out his books. Brenda leaned over the next locker, looking at him.

"Well, are you busy today after school?" she asked with a grin.

A bell rang on his mind. "Actually, yes. I have to do something my pops asked me. And I can't get out of it."

"Oh, well. Maybe another day." she said touching his arm.

"Yeah, I... Uh, hey Alby!" he yelled at the hall, looking at the dark-skinned guy talking to Ben. He turned to Brenda again, "I'm sorry, I have to go." he closed his locker, books on hand, and ran towards the other two, "Hey, what's up, man!" he clapped at Alby's back, the other looking confused as they walked away.

Walking on another hall, Alby finally asked, "What was that?"

"You're a life-saver, man. I owe you." Thomas clapped at his back once more before running away to his class.

He and Ben stood there on the hall, looking as the brunet disappeared on the corner. Alby snorted, pointing at his direction,

"He's Newt's future husband."

On the other side of the school, at the Physics classroom, Minho entered the classroom, looking around at the semi-empty place. The teacher wasn't even inside yet. But at least he arrived before him this time. He saw Teresa already there, sitting and reading a book. He walked towards her,

"Hey,"

She looked at him, "Hey," and returned to her reading.

Minho sat beside her, looking at the front as they waited for the teacher to arrive. He started tapping his desk with his fingers, and the floor with his feet. He glanced at his side at Teresa, and turned to face her,

"What are you reading?"

"Gravity's Rainbow."

"Oh, that sounds great."

She looks up from her book and stares at him, "You don't know what it is about, don't you?"

"No idea." says Minho with a grin. Teresa rolls her eyes and continues with her book with a small smile.

Then, a brunet girl with a pixie cut and holding a notebook approached her, sitting on the seat beside her.

"Teresa, can you help me with this? I don't understand it."

"Sure." she turned to the right on her seat, facing the girl, her back at Minho and started explaining.

The Asian saw as the raven girl helped the other girl, pointing something over the notebook and taking the pencil, writing something down. Her hair moved everything she wrote something or when she moved her hand to explain. It looked shinier than others days. Minho then thought of something out of this world. Looking around to check that no one was looking, he leaned over until he was at her hair level and inhaled. It smelled like amber: warm, musky, rich and honey-like. Oh god, it was a delicious scent.

 

* * *

 

Classes ended and Thomas practically jumped out of the school. Today he didn't had extracurricular classes, so he could go and get something to eat before going to the hospital. Unfortunately, Newt, Teresa and Aris did had Art class, so they couldn't join him. Minho had to go to cover an extra shift at work. Alby had to go home and study. He wasn't pretty sure what was with Gally, but he said he had somewhere else to go.

Great. Free time but no one to share it with.

He decided to go for some pizza and a milkshake. He stayed there until his watch marked the time to go.

Thomas arrives at the hospital and directly goes to the reception. There behind the white counter typing something on the board was an old, unfriendly face, not so good looking lady. Thomas approaches the counter and rests his arms there,

"Um, hi." the woman looks up, "I'm here as a volunteer to cover someone's shift at the kids section."

"Name."

"Uh, Thomas Hale."

The nurse types something down on the computer while Thomas looks around, waiting for her, "Alright. Here's your pass," she gives him a pass, "Don't lose it. Also you may not introduce any kind of food or weapons to the room."

"Oh, too bad I leaved my knives collection at home." the nurse just stares at him with an unamused face, "Okay."

"The last door at the end. Try not to disturb any other patients."

Thomas nods and walks the opposite side, towards the direction the nurse told him. He went through a big door -without seeing the name- and almost collided with a woman.

"Oh, I'm sorry!"

"No, I wasn't looking... Um, I'm a volunteer. I'm the one who's supposed to cover this shift?"

The lady smiles, "Oh! Thank you so much to come here. I'm already late to go pick up my kids and-

"Worry not. You may leave, now it's my turn."

The lady nods and turns around to leave. Thomas smiles and turns to look at the kids. They were all wearing pajamas and were on their beds, looking at him. He could see they were wearing nasal catheters, and some of them didn't had hair. He frowned and turned to look at the placard over the door he came in:

Pediatric Oncology Care.

_Oh._

He turns around and sees the kids again as they wait for him to say or do something. He licks his lips,

"Hey. H-how you kids doing? I'm Thomas."

The room was filled with _"Hi, Thomas."_ and _"Nice to meet ya."_

"So... What do you kids do to have fun?"

"Do you know any story?" asked a little boy holding a blue plush.

"Uh, no but I can make one up." he looks around and grabs a chair, putting it in the center so he could see all the kids, "Do you like the fairy tales ones?"

_"Yes!"_

"That's a start." he said more to himself, "Okay! Let's start!"

 

* * *

 

Music was loud at dance class; you could hear it from outside over the street. Inside, the whole class was dancing, following the instructor's moves and having fun. Over the center was Aris, laughing while trying to help a girl to follow the steps. Supposedly he shouldn't be here. He told his friends that he had gotten his black eye from dance class and that his instructor told him not to come for a week. But he wanted to dance. And he couldn't come up with an excuse for his instructor, so here he was.

He was wearing an pumice grey off shoulder fluffy sweater (that showed the black tank top he had underneath), black footless tights and black flats. Everyone else was wearing black tank tops and leggings too. It was a comfortable choice.

Once the music came to an end, the instructor clapped to get everyone's attention, she wiped the sweat from her forehead as she talked, " _Whoo!_ Okay, everybody, nice work!" they all started applauding, "Next class we'll start with tango! _Yay!_ So rest well and be prepared for an exciting day! See ya next class!"

After she finished talking, she grabbed her bag and leaved, waving at them. The rest of the people started putting their things inside their bags, ready to leave as Aris drank from his bottle of water. After finishing, they all said their goodbyes as always.

Soon, the whole room was empty, Aris being the only one left. He turned to his bag and opened it, putting inside his water and towel. He heard steps and turned to the entrance, eyes locking with Gally's. He was wearing track pants, and a brown hoodie with the hood down. _'What the hell is he doing here?'_  thought the brunet.

Gally started walking around the place like if it was normal for him being there, "I thought you weren't supposed to dance for a whole week?"

"I feel better, so I told the teacher to let me participate again."

The dirty blonde nods, "So... tango, huh?"

"Yes. This is a dance class. Tango is a dance. We learn how to dance. You got it?" answered frustrated Aris, one hand on his hip.

Gally seemed unaffected by the outburst of the brunet, as he continued to glide around the place, "Yeah, that's actually what I don't understand. Dance classes? I-I just don't get it."

"I didn't expect you to understand," he zips his bag and as he hangs it over his shoulder he says "Only real men can tango."

Gally stopped moving and frowned, "Oh, sorry. What did you said?" he asked angry, crossing his arms over his chest.

Aris turned around firmly and girth his teeth, "I said _'Only. Real. Men. Can. Tango.'_ " he said defiantly.

Oh, that's it.

"Oh yeah?" snorted Gally as he approached the table where the stereo was; feeling Aris' eyes digging holes into his back. He grabbed the remote control and pressed play, turning around as the music started ([x](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InOddSaQnvs)). He threw the remote over the table, looking at Aris as he lowered his bag on the floor and went to the middle of the room. Gally took off his hoodie, revealing the dark shirt he had underneath. He walked to where the light brunet was standing and extended his hand to him, waiting for it to be taken. Aris grabbed it, eyes still locked into Gally's as he flattened his palm against the other's shoulder blade. Gally grabbed him by the waist and it started,

 

_Follow me into my world_

 

His feet moved and Aris followed, perfectly knowing what to do. Not the first time dancing a tango. A step back, then two -Gally pulled him into him- then one forward, leaning over him. Dancing to the beat, they became one with the music, forgetting everything else. Closeness was broken as they pulled apart, holding each other forearms as Gally moved sideways, stepping backwards. Aris followed suit, but stepping forward.

The dirty blonde guy spun him in perfect timing; Aris clung to him, while Gally's arms snaked around his waist. The light brunet's knee pressed against his side as the other slowly dragged him across the dance floor.

 

_Don't be afraid, take my hand_

_Forget the world_

_Will you dance, dance with me?_

_Podemos bailar eternamente_

 

They twirled, stepping together in unison around the dance floor until they stopped. Aris flung his back against the other's chest, making the dirty blonde grunt into his ear. Aris smirked, with one leg extended to the side, he slid down, his nails digging into Gally's thighs. Gally let out an almost animalistic grunt as his hands hooked under the brunet's arms, tugging him back up and plastering him into his chest. They tried to ignore the way the line 'don't fight the feeling' applied to this scenario. Aris turned around to face him and their hands intertwined. Snapping forward, they turned and turned before Gally spun him away again, but this time he didn't let go of his hand. Aris whipped himself around to face him again; one hand wrapped by his and the other on his shoulder, they continued to move together to the tempo, shifting and turning in time. They never took their eyes off each other.

Aris' right leg draped over his forearm, letting the dirty blonde to drag him over the dance floor again as he gripped hard at his chest. Gally wasted no time and lifted him into his arms; they spun and spun before Aris finally let his feet touch the floor.

 

_Don't be afraid, take my hand_

_Forget the world_

_Will you dance, dance with me?_

_Podemos bailar eternamente_

_Trust in me, take a chance_

_Feel the tango_

_When you dance, dance with me_

_Podemos bailar eternamente_

 

Time seemed to stand still as they dance; the heat between their bodies was... electric. Gally grabbed him by the waist and lift him, Aris legs to his side as they spun. After a few seconds, he pulls him down on his feet and twirled the brunet, then faced him, their hands intertwined again. Aris turned so his back was pressing against Gally's front; he leaned his head back, looking into the other's eyes as they continued dancing. Two steps to the front and two steps back, then again but backwards.

They separate for a moment to twirl around; the dirty blonde bringing the other closer again and going back to the initial position. Aris kicks his leg up the first step and then down, before they bent down on the second. Quickly stepping backwards, Gally grabs Aris firmly, dipping him towards the floor.

 

_Don't be afraid, take my hand_

_Forget the world_

_Will you dance, dance with me?_

_Podemos bailar eternamente_

 

He spun Aris one last time before tugging him to his body, wrapping a hand around his waist to steady him. As Aris was brought to the dirty blonde's body, both hands grabbed him by the shoulder's, lifting his right left and pressing it against Gally's side as the other grabbed it, keeping it there.

The music stopped abruptly; that's how they stopped dancing: breathing heavily against each other, their bodies still flushed pressed against the other, Aris hands clinging to the fabric on Gally's shoulders. He let go the same time Gally let go of his leg and removed his hand from his waist. They stayed like that, staring at each other with ragged breaths. Aris was the first to speak,

"You never told me you knew how to tango."

"You never asked."

They stare at each other again. The only thing Gally can think of is the black eye on the other's face. He raised his hand to touch his face -specifically his eye- but Aris took a step back.

"I need to go. Dan is coming for me." he went to get his bag.

Gally stays there, his back at the brunet, "Oh. So _now_ he comes, huh?" Aris turned to look at him, "Well, I need to go too." he walked to the door, waving at Aris, "Say 'hi' to Dan from me." and leaved. Aris stood there, bag on hand and staring at the door.

 

* * *

 

Back at the hospital, Thomas had the kids sitting over the small tables over the room, drawing on paper. After telling them two stories -which he made up, thank you very much- he decided to do something more, so they started drawing. Thomas was sitting in the middle of two kids as they draw, he himself drawing too.

"Do you like it?" asked a little girl with raven hair, holding her draw so Thomas could see it. She had drawn her family beside their house.

"Of course! It's beautiful!" said Thomas smiling, "Do you like mine?" he asked holding up his drawing.

The girl tilted her head, "What happened to that table?"

Thomas frowned and looked back at his drawn, "It's not a table; it's a cat."

"That's not a cat."

"Yes, it is." the girl gave him a look, "Alright, smartypants. How does a cat look like?"

The girl grabbed another paper and began drawing something with the color blue. Another kid pulled at his shirt to make him look at them, so Thomas turned and saw the kid with the plush holding his draw: it was something yellow with two red spots on the cheeks, black eyes and it had a tail.

"Is it Pikachu?" the kid nodded, "Wow, you shouldn't be here. You should be working for the animators of Pokemon." the kid smiled at him. Thomas ruffled his hair.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to the girl from before. She was holding the cat draw. He looked back at the one he made and then at hers, "Wow. Now _THAT'S_ a cat." the girl smiled proudly, "Yeah, alright Picasso, calm down." the little girl giggled as Thomas covered her face with his hand, standing up and going to the door. He needed to go to the bathroom.

As he came out of the bathroom -luckily there was one on the other side of the room- and was ready to go back, he turned his head to the hall and saw something... more like someone familiar: A blonde haired guy that was talking to a nurse.

"Newt?"

The blonde turned at hearing his name and smiled. After saying thank you to the woman, he walked towards Thomas, "Tommy, hi."

"Wha-what are you doing here?"

"Your dad thought you might need some help."

"And he called you?"

"He asked my mom if I could come. And she asked me and here I am."

"I love you so much right now." he gives him a quick peck on the lips and enter the room. All the head turn to them, "Hey, kids. This is my friend Newt. Please say hi to him."

_"Hi!"_

Newt smiled and waved softly at them, "Hi."

The little raven girl -Sierra was her name- approached them, standing in front of Newt,

"Can you draw?"

"Yes."

"Better than him?" she asked pointing at Thomas, who made an insulted face.

Newt bite his lip trying not to laugh, "Of course." the little girl grabbed his hand and brought him to the table she was sitting. Newt looked over his shoulder at Thomas and smiled. Thomas went and followed them, standing beside the table.

A few minutes later, Newt had Sierra on his lap, watching as she draws a field filled with flowers of different colors. Thomas was sat a few steps away from them, helping two kids to build something using colorful wood blocks. As the boys decided between a school or a church, Thomas eyed the blonde guy with the little girl; how he pointed at the draw and told her something to which she nodded. How she would grab another crayon to give it to him so he could join her. How Newt would smile warmly at her and draw too.

He was knocked out of his thoughts when a knock came from the door. He stood up and as he approached the door, the door slightly opened. A dark-skinned nurse popped her head inside the room and smiled, "Hi. I hope we're not interrupting anything."

Thomas looks back at Newt, who is now turned to them, "Not at all."

The nurse nods and she enters the room; behind her is a little girl with long light-brown hair and green eyes holding a teddy bear. She was adorable.

"Sorry, they were checking her..."

"Nah, it's alright. The more the merrier, right?" he said asking the girl, who nodded shyly. Thomas smiled as the nurse leaved; he kneeled in front of her, "You're the cutest thing I've ever seen. What's your name, beautiful?"

"Christy."

"Christy. That's a pretty name." the girl hides her smile behind her plush, "Well, I got news for you, Christy." he claps and makes like he's pulling his sleeves up. He grabs the girl from the waist and stands up with her, "I'm not putting you down until the cows come home!" Newt smiles when the little girl starts laughing. He looks at them with endearing eyes. Christy's face illuminated as she laughed while Thomas made little jumps and swayed their bodies. The tender moment was interrupted when a voice was heard behind them,

"Put her down." it was the nurse at the reception, looking at Thomas with a disapproving look.

"The cow came home." whispered Thomas as he put the girl down.

The nurse looked over at Newt who stood up with Sierra, carrying the little girl on his hip, "Who is this?"

"Uh, he came to help me."

The nurse looked up and down at Newt and made an strange noise. She looked back at Thomas, "Try to not bring more people. And get these patients back in their beds." she turned around and leaved.

Thomas patted Christy's head, and she went to the table, joining the other kids. Newt approached Thomas, still carrying Sierra, "Should I leave?"

"Nah, don't pay any attention to her. She doesn't know _shit_ \--" Sierra's eyes widen and she gasps, "I mean _shoot_." Newt chuckles, "She doesn't know shoot." he turns to the rest of the kids and speaks louder, "I mean, you guys don't even look sick. I bet you're here just so you can get out of school. Is that right?"

All the kids giggled. Newt looks at Thomas and smiles. Thomas walks towards Christy and picks up the girl, twirling around the room until they reach the bed, falling over it softly. The rest of the kids don't even give Thomas the chance to get up when they run and jump into the bed, crushing the brunet underneath. Thomas started tickling his way out, making the kids laugh harder. Newt putted Sierra down so she could join her friends. He stood there, arms crossed over his chest and watching as Thomas managed to crawl out and sit on the bed. He had his lap full of kids, each of them saying they wanted to do something else. Thomas turned and looked at the blonde,

"Only if Newt can join us."

Sierra stood up and grabbed Newt's hands, bringing him to the bed with everyone else. Newt just smiled and allowed himself to be taken.

 

_"When someone loves you, the way they talk about you is different. You feel safe and comfortable." - Jess C. Scott._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like it!  
> Ok, so for the tango part: I don't know if some of these moves are possible, or used when dancing tango, but I really hope you ignore my poor knowledge on that topic and enjoy it anyways.
> 
> With the next chapter I'll start with December on the story, so get ready with all the fluffines Christmas can give you! Happy Holidays!


	29. The Start Of December

Over the library sitting in one of the desks was Thomas with many notes all over the desk. Even though winter break was near, so were the finals exams so he was studying hard to get good grades. As he was writing something down, Brenda appeared, holding a book on her right hand and a slutty smile over her face.

"Thomas, look what I'm standing under." the brunet looks up, "Isn't that mistletoe?" she asks with a smile.

Thomas frowns, looking at it, "I'm not sure. It looks rather like holly." he reassumes his notes.

"It's mistletoe." she says with a firm tone and stern look. She then smiles again, "And I do believe tradition calls for a kiss."

Teresa passes beside her and says "All right." leaning and giving Brenda a kiss on the cheek. Thomas chuckles at it, shaking his head.

Brenda glares at Teresa, "What do you want, Teresa?"

"I promised Thomas I would give him a ride to his house and it's late. I have things to do too."

Thomas frowns again, "Really?" he looks at the watch on the wall and sighs, "Damn, it is. Come on, Teresa." he gathers up his things and waves goodbye to Brenda, who huffs as they leave. Almost near her car, the brunet tells her, "Thanks for that. You saved my sorry ass."

She smiles, "You're welcome. So, are we ready?" she asks opening her door.

Thomas opens the door, "Yeah. Are the others too?"

"They're actually waiting for us at the mall."

"Then let's hit it!"

 

* * *

 

The gang (Thomas, Newt, Teresa, Aris, Minho and Sonya) were at the mall, looking for the presents they were gonna give to their family and friends. Right now they were looking for some clothes. The guys were at the men section while the girls were at their section.

Aris holds up a blue stripped shirt, looking at it, "I wonder if my mom would like this."

Newt frowns, "Why are you worrying about your mom if this is for your father?"

"Because my mom is the one who's gonna decided if it stays or it goes to the trash."

"Harsh."

"Yeah, tell my dad that." he puts the shirt back into its place, "I think she likes the red better." he looks up and finds the ones he wants at the top. Frowning, he turns to Newt, "Can you go to look for someone who can help us?"

"Sure." the blonde turns and leaves to find someone.

Aris turns to the changing room and finds that Thomas isn't out yet, having been trying on a shirt, "Come on, Thomas. There's only one exit."

_"I don't think this shirt is the one."_

"Please, I'm sure it's fine. Now come on,"

With a long sigh, the curtain opens and Thomas exits wearing a fit black v-neck shirt. It made his arms look buff and his body slimmer.

Aris claps, "Yes, decided. I'm gonna buy that for you." he turns when Newt comes back with an employee to help him. As he walks with the employee to where the shirts he wants are, Newt turns to look at his boyfriend.

He gasps, admiring the brunet's torso and arms, "Tommy, you look... _wow._ "

"Yeah? How _'wow'_ is that _'wow'_?" he asked approaching the blonde, circling his waist with his arms and pulling him closer to his body. Newt smiled and putted his hands over the brunet's chest.

"Please, not in the changing room, guys." said Aris as he passed beside them, two red shirts on hand. Thomas and Newt looked at each other and laughed.

Thomas cleared his throat, "Hey, Min. How's it going?" he yelled at the changing room.

_"Just a moment!"_ came the Asian's response.

Newt looked at Thomas, "What is he trying?"

"I don't know. Something that Sonya picked out for him, I guess."

"You already know what you're gonna give him?"

"Yeah, but it's not clothes."

"Something along the lines of hair products. maybe?"

"That's why I love you. You know me too well."

The sound of curtains opening was what made them turn, but nothing prepared them for what they were looking at. There, standing just a few steps ahead was Minho wearing some bright yellow with black spots bermuda shorts.

Aris' eyes widen, "In the name of Tommy Hilfiger— _what is that?!_ "

"Sonya thought they would look nice on me." said Minho nodding at behind the lighter brunet.

"Whu- _what?_ " he turns around and finds the place where Sonya took the shorts, "Oh, no, no, no." he went to another part of the shop.

Minho turns to the other two, "Are they that awful?"

Thomas shakes his head, "No, no. Not at all. Now if you excuse me, I have to go and pluck out my eyes." with that he turns around and leaves with Newt, who starts laughing.

"Very funny."

Teresa comes from the women department and walks beside Thomas and Newt, and sees them laughing. She ignores it until she approaches Minho and sees him wearing the shorts. She stares at him, not daring to say anything.

"Sonya thought they would look nice on me." he explains.

"And you are so nice you believed in her." mocks him Teresa.

"What are you doing here, Teresa?"

"I'm looking for Sonya. She said she was going to come here, so I was going to show her these." with that she shows him [a soft pink floral dress](http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=34584586).

"Wow. Never knew you liked those."

Teresa snorts, "What? No. This one's for her. This one is mine," she shows him a shirt, but the color and design were... well, not attractive enough.

Now it's Minho's turn to stare at her and her clothes. He clears his throat, "You're not really going to buy that, are you?"

"I'm just gonna try it."

Minho exhales in a way that seems like relief. Teresa frowns, "What? Why not?"

"Because it's a horrible shirt and I think I get why Thomas said he was gonna pluck his eyes out."

Teresa snorts, "I'm not having a fashion advice from a guy wearing the ugliest shorts I've ever seen in my life."

Minho looks at himself and then back at Teresa, "I bet these shorts look uglier on me than they do on you."

"Oh, you want an ugly contest? Bring it on!" she grabs a pair and puts them on, hands on her hips.

He looks at her, "Nevermind... You win." he says with a grin.

She shoves him, "Shut up!" but smiles back, chuckling a little too girly -even though she's a girl.

Their moment is interrupted by Aris,

"Hey, Minho. Sonya is looking for you."

"Oh, right. I'll be right back."

Teresa nods and watches him run. She smiles as he disappears, but she stops when she feels a pair of eye staring at her. She turns and sees Aris staring at her,

"What?"

"Nothing. Nothing... You were just being too obvious."

"No, I wasn't!"

Aris reenacts her laughter, batting his eyelashes and moving his hands like he was hitting the air.

Teresa feels her face red, "Shut up." and she shoves him.

"I'm just teasing you."

"I know." she takes out her tongue, "Come on, help me with something." she links her arm with his as they walk through the aisles, "I was thinking buying something for Miss Paige. You know, for Christmas. But I don't know what. I was thinking a snow globe; maybe Santa Claus doll. Those are nice."

"Yeah... I'm not so sure about that."

"Talking from experience?"

"My mom had a creepy Santa Claus doll that my uncle gave her as a present a few years ago. It creeps the hell out of me and my mom."

"And where is it?"

"My mom made my stepfather throw it away last year. She couldn't handle it."

"Was it that horrible?"

Aris sends her a look and takes out his phone, scrolling down the gallery until he finds the photo. He shows it to Teresa ([x](http://i.huffpost.com/gen/886958/images/o-CREEPY-SANTA-DOLLS-facebook.jpg)),

"Ow, wow."

"Yeah. That's what my mom said when she saw it for the first time." he puts his phone away.

"I should get her a snow globe, then." the other nods.

Minho returned, jogging back towards them. Instantly, Teresa smiled and Aris rolled his eyes at her.

"Hey,"

"Hey. What happened with Sonya?" she asked, looking around and not finding the blonde girl.

"Her mom called; she had to leave. Now it's the perfect timing for you to help me get her something without her knowing."

Teresa eyed the lighter brunet, and then back at the Asian, "I-I would love to." she said smiling.

Minho turned around and started walking, as Teresa and Aris started moving their hands -making signs- to each other without talking, the lighter brunet trying to tell her that she was being too obvious and the raven girl telling him to shut up. Minho turned to them and they stopped just in time, looking at him with a smile. Teresa walked towards him, glancing at Aris.

Aris stayed there, looking around while frowning, "Where did Thomas and Newt went? Great, now I'm standing alone and talking to myself."

 

* * *

 

They all exited the mall, Teresa and Aris holding bags since Minho, Newt and Thomas hadn't bought anything yet. They were walking towards the place they left their cars.

Teresa sighs, "I don't wanna walk anymore. My legs hurt for being standing up over the mall. But we had to let our cars parked away, right, Min?"

"Wha- it was a sunny day! Besides, it doesn't hurt to walk once in a while."

"Fine, then you carry the bags, mister." she gives her bags to Minho. Moments later, Aris does the same.

Minho's eyes widen comically, "Wha- _hey!_ "

"It's the bags or carry me."

Teresa leans beside the Asian male, "Trust me, you want the bags." she gets shoved playfully by Aris.

They are a few feet away from their cars when a strange sound startles them, making them stop. They look around and hear it again, more clear: a meow. Just a few feet from them is a black cat with stunning yellow eyes, up on a trash can, cleaning himself.

"Aww, look at it!" exclaimed Teresa as she kneeled, "Come here!" she started making noises to attract the cat. It seemed to work as the cat climb down the trash can and ran towards her, rubbing himself against her leg, purring as he did so. She then grabbed him and stood up straight, carrying the cat.

"It must be a stray cat." said Aris as he caressed its fur.

"Or a lost one." retorts Minho.

Aris shakes his head, "He doesn't have a collar. Nor he seems to have known a decent shower in years or a meal in a few days."

"We can't just leave him here." says the raven girl with pleading eyes.

Minho is the first to talk, "If my landlord allowed pets I would take it. I think Sonya would love it. Maybe she can have it."

Thomas frowns, "Isn't she allergic to cat and dog's fur?"

"Oh, yeah."

Teresa is the next one to talk, passing the cat to Newt, "I'm gonna have a big dog 'cus those are the ones I like the most. They are just so... fluffy and big and you can cuddle with them if you are cold!"

Minho's eyes lit, "I know, right!"

"What about you guys?" she asks, "Tom? Newt?"

"Cats, obviously." answers the blonde, "I mean, isn't he an adorable ball of lovely fluffy fat cuteness?"

Thomas clears his throat, "Um, Newt?" the blonde looks at him, "Weren't you a little... you know, superstitious?"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I don't like cats. And especially this little buddy!" he said the last sentence talking to the cat, caressing his fur making the cat purr. After five seconds he turned to look at Thomas and gasped, "You did not said what I think you said, right?"

"What?"

"About black cats. That they have bad luck."

"Don't you think that?"

"Would I be holding a black cat if that were the case?" Thomas thought about it and shrugged. "Too bad I think my mom wouldn't let me have it. I feel bad for him."

"I'll take him." says Aris.

"Really?"

"Yeah. My mom loves cats either way, so..." Newt passes him the cat, "Hey, there, buddy."

Minho claps, bags around his wrists, "Ok, we need to go now before the people around start to stare at the bunch of kids talking to a stray cat."

 

* * *

 

"I'm home!"

Yelled Thomas as he arrived at his house, closing the door behind him. He turned around and saw the top of someone's head -light hair- sitting over the couch. That's weird.

"Hey..."

The person turned their head around and Thomas' eyes widen at seeing Malia looking at him, smiling after hearing him. As she stood up he noticed her hair: her hair was shoulder-length honey brown with caramel balayage highlights in it.

"Hey, stranger."

"Hey!" Thomas smiled and approached to hug her, "What's up, coyote! Did you escape from college?"

"You hope." they separate, "It's my winter break; I don't have classes anymore."

"Really? I still have exams and I'm killing myself studying for them."

"Oh, I can help with that."

"Really?"

"Yes. But not right now. Right now I'm waiting for your dad to bring dinner." she says smiling the way she does whenever she thinks of food.

Thomas rolls his eyes but smiles either way. He goes up towards his bedroom, waiting there until his dad arrives. A few minutes later as he's studying, he hears the front door open and Malia yelling 'FOOD' at the top of her lungs. He smiles and puts his books away, standing up from his bed and exiting his room. You can't think well with an empty stomach, right?

 

* * *

 

Next day at school, Thomas and Minho were at the library at lunch time, sitting over one of the tables with books notebooks surrounding them. There were a few people studying too.

As Thomas took out something form his backpack, Minho asked "Do you know what are you giving Newt for Christmas?"

"No, I don't."

"Do you even have an idea?"

"No."

"Really? Aren't you stressed about that? I mean, yeah, you're stressed enough about the exams. Imagine being stressed about what to give your boyfriend as a present for Christmas. I mean, man, that's hard..."

Thomas turned at him with wide worried eyes, "Min, _just-_!! Help me study for the exams!" he said pushing a stack of index cards towards him. Minho nodded and grabbed them,

"Okay, which one do you wanna start with?"

"The yellow ones."

Sure enough, in the corner of each index card, was a color. Some were yellow, a few were green—but most were red, "What do they mean?” Minho asked.

"The green ones I know— you can skip those ones," he began, "the yellow ones I'm not entirely sure about, and the red ones I don't have a hope of learning before the test."

Minho frowned down at the cards, shuffling through them, "Most of them are red, dude."

"Good job, Columbo." he rolled his eyes, "Now, help me, please."

"Okay, okay. But just because I'm such a good human being."

"Whatever makes you sleep at night, Min."

Meanwhile, over the cafeteria, Newt sat with his tray in front of Teresa, who was already eating her lunch.

"Hey. Where's Thomas?"

"He and mister 'I wasn't that hungry at all, thank you very much' are over the library," Newt chuckles, "Minho is helping Tom studying."

"Really? I never knew Thomas was so worried about that."

"Well, duh. He has a lot to lose now." the blonde gives her a frown, confused at her words. Teresa snorts, "Well, if he doesn't get good grades or if he fails an exam, he won't be able to spend time with you. Don't tell me you didn't knew?"

"No, I had no idea." Newt looks at the food on his tray and after a moment he smiles, his faces getting red.

Teresa nudges his leg with hers, "Aww, look at you, blushing like a virgin."

"But I am a virgin."

"I know. It's just a manner of speak."

Newt rolls his eyes playfully, making the raven girl to laugh. The rest of the school goes on pretty normal.

 

* * *

 

A few hours after school, Gally stands in front of the door of Aris' house, having been called for him for unknown reasons. They had been acting normal since the tango performance, so Gally didn't seemed to see any objections in coming to his house. They hadn't talk about his black eye either, which at the moment had disappeared. He knocks on the door three times.

_"Who is it?"_ came Aris' voice from inside the house.

"It's Gally."

_"It's open!"_

Shrugging, the dirty blonde turned the knob and entered the house, closing the door behind him.

_"Thanks for coming!"_ the lighter brunet was nowhere in sight.

"It's fine."

_"I'd like you to meet someone."_

"...Okay."

Aris appears from behind a wall -maybe he came from upstairs- holding the black cat the gang had found. Gally looked at him and then at the cat, then back at him.

"I'd like you to meet Dr. Robert Oppenheimer." says Aris smiling.

"I think that falls into a new category of animal abuse."

Aris rolls his eyes, still petting the cat, "Don't listen to him, Oppenheimer. You're the most adorable cat."

Gally stretches a hand to pat the cat, "I never said he wasn't cute."

"I know. I'm just messing with you. Now, if you'll excuse me, the father of the atomic bomb wants a saucer of milk." he says walking towards the kitchen.

Gally looks around the living room. He clears his throat, "So... Don't get me wrong, but why am I here?"

Aris returns to the living room, having leaved the cat on the kitchen, "Well, my mom asked me to go to the attic and take out the Christmas decorations, so we could decorate the house."

"And?"

"And I wanted you to help me." Gally gives him a look, "Come on! There are several boxes up there! I can't do it alone."

"Why didn't you asked Teresa?"

"Because..."

_'Because she will give me those stares and try to talk about Dan and I don't want that. I don't want her to tell me to break up with him; that he's bad for me.'_

"Because... She was had things to do and she couldn't help me."

"And what made you thought I didn't had anything to do?" Aris stares at him with an eyebrow up, not moving. "Okay. I'm gonna try not to take that as an offense." he walks past Aris and they both walk towards the stairs. As they are at the middle of the stairs, Aris says

"You weren't busy, though."

"I'm about to leave."

Arriving at where the attic was, Gally opens the loft hatch, pulling the ladder down in front of them. He points to Aris to go first, looking at the ladder.

"Uh, I think it'll be better if I stay here, supervising while you go upstairs."

Gally turns to look at him, "You afraid of heights, Jones?" he asks with a smirk.

"Hardly. A fear of heights is illogical." he bites his lips, "Fear of falling, on the other hand, is prudent and evolutionary."

The dirty blonde guy shakes his head with a smirk while climbing the ladder, "Sissy."

"Jerk." he hears Aris talk back.

 

* * *

 

At the Hale house, Thomas and Malia were at the brunet's room, ready to study. Thomas was sitting on his desk, notebooks sprawled over it as Malia stood beside him, holding one of his notebooks.

"You sure this will work?"

"Trust me. This is how I studied for all my exams."

"Why do I feel like that's not helping?"

Malia glares at him, one arm on her hip, "Do you want to spend your vacations studying for extraordinary exams instead of being all lovey dovey with Newt?"

Thomas stares at her still before holding his hand to her, "Give me that." the golden brunet girl hands him over his notebook. The brunet puts the notebook over the desk, turning his attention to it as Malia looks at the watch on her wrist.

"Okay..." she starts the chronometer on her watch and says "Begin." as she turns around and walks to the other side of the room, Thomas began writing down on the paper. He's normal until he hears a squeezing sound and turns to look at Malia holding a blue balloon, roaming her hands over it. He turns back to his notebook and starts writing again but he gets startled by the balloon again, Malia walking towards him looking completely normal. He doesn't turn this time, and tries to continue writing on his notebook, girthing his teeth as she does so.

Malia squeezes the balloon again and again, looking around the room as Thomas tries to concentrate until he furiously pops the balloon with his pencil, startling Malia. He pouts while Malia crosses her arms over her chest, "Why'd you pop it?"

"I'm sorry, I was aiming for your heart."

_"Thomas..."_

_"Malia..."_

"Do you want to pass your exams?"

Thomas bites his lips, pouting again as he looks away, "...yes."

"What was that?"

"I said 'yes'."

"I can't hear you!"

"YES!"

"AGAIN."

"YES!"

"Alright!" Malia claps, "You finish writing that and then we'll go get something to eat!"

"Yeah!" Thomas turned to his desk and continued writing on his notebook.

 

* * *

 

Back to Aris' house, the dirty blonde was still over the attic, having brought down all the boxes but he was still trying to find something that Aris had asked him. Aris was beside the ladder, looking up.

_"I'm telling you it's not here."_

"It has to."

_"Why don't you come up and check it for yourself?"_ he can practically see the smirk on Gally's face.

Aris crosses his arms, "No, you're doing fine. Just continue." he doesn't hear Gally retort, "Gally?" nothing again, "Hey, you still alive?" nothing.

Aris bites his lips, and puts his hands on the ladder, slowly climbing up. Once he reaches the top -half his body still on the ladder- he finds the dirty blonde staring at him.

"Oh, you _do_ have the ability to climb up a ladder."

"You're a jerk." Gally shrugs, "Are you sure you're looking up right? Maybe you missed something."

"Are you seeing what I see?" he says stretching his arms out, showing the whole attic, "Those were the only Christmas boxes in here. The rest must be stuff your family keeps."

"Well, did you double check?" Aris looks around, "Maybe it's here." he moves a blanket away and underneath it was the creepy Santa Claus doll staring right at him. Aris' eyes widen and he yells _"Ay Dios mio! El diablo is back!"_ quickly climbing down the ladder.

He hears Gally speak again, _"Well... That definitely stays up here."_


	30. Under the Mistletoe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really, really hope you enjoy this chapter~

Since December had already started, there were just a few days for winter formal and everyone was excited about it. Minho was outside the school over the parking lot, leaning beside his car while talking to three other guys from track and fields. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Teresa climbing out of her car with her phone on hand, putting it over her ear, obviously in a call. He said goodbye to the guys he was talking to and jogged towards her.

Teresa continued walking as she spoke on her phone, "Mom, I will pick out my own dress. And no, I will not wear high heels." she sighs and rolls her eyes, "Because heels are a male invention designed to make women's butts look smaller," she sees Minho approaching her, "I have to go. Call you tonight, okay? Bye."

Minho is now beside her, "Hey,"

Teresa puts her phone on her jeans, "Hey. How's it going?"

"Dreading for the final grades."

"Ugh, me too." she smiles, "But hey, we all studied hard. I'm sure we all did great."

"Yeah, I hope."

Teresa looks up for a moment, "Tell you what. Once we get our grades, we all go for something to eat to celebrate. Let's say... Chinese?"

Minho grins, "Uuh, I like that."

"Of course you do. It's about food." she chuckled as he shoved her playfully. She did the same and they laughed.

Just as they laughed and were about to walk through the building's door, they vaguely heard the voice of Principal Janson. They also saw something big, being covered in a curtain, and a lot of students around it.

"What is Rat-man doing now?" said Minho.

"I don't know. Come on," she nodded at that way, so they went to that direction. Principal Janson was talking about something and it wasn't until they were at the front when they heard him clearly,

"So as I was saying, kids. Since Christmas is coming, I decided to give myself a little something." everyone rolled their eyes. Even some teachers that were near. Janson ignored it, "And now, I present to you a statue of my personal hero." the curtains falls off and reveals a statue of the principal himself, "Me!" he claps one time and recites what his inscription said, "'Principal Janson. Respected, intelligent, professional.'" he said with a grin, looking satisfactory at the students.

Minho brushes his nose and points at the inscription over the statue, "I think the engraver used an abbreviation."

Janson turns at it and reads it aloud, " _'R.I.P.'_?!"

Some students laugh. Minho then says, "Oh, I thought you were just dead on the inside." Teresa chuckles and they high-five. The principal glares at him and then at the statue. He dismisses everyone to their classrooms.

 

* * *

 

The bell rang and everyone rushed out of their classrooms. Some were jumping in excitement and some others were gloomy. Teachers had finished giving them their final grades. Minho and Teresa exit their classroom and walked down the hall.

The raven girl sighs, "I'm so happy I managed to pass History."

"Man, I suffered in Maths. But I did passed, that's the good news."

"I wonder how it went to the others." she says as they turn around the corner, walking towards the lockers. They see Thomas putting his stuff into his locker, so they run towards him.

"Thomas!" the brunet turns around at hearing the raven girl's voice, "How did it go?"

"Yeah, tell us!"

Thomas looks at his feet, not looking at his friends in the eyes like he was ashamed. Minho and Teresa's smile drop. Oh no. Does it mean he failed a subject? All of them? But he studied so hard all those weeks; they all helped him. Just as Teresa puts a hand over his arm, caressing it, Thomas looks up with a big grin, holding up a paper sheet.

"I passed every one of my exams!" Minho and Teresa smiled in relief, looking at each other. The brunet turns to Minho, _"LET ME LOVE YOU!"_ and jumps to his friend, capturing him in a bone-crushing hug. The Asian just laughs and returns the hug.

As he opens his eyes, Thomas sees Newt walking towards them and smiles, separating from the Asian and going towards the blonde, "Let _me_ love _you_." he puts his hands on Newt's waist.

"Tommy," he puts his arms around his neck and kisses the brunet, smiling while doing so.

"Ugh," came from Minho behind them, separating them, "I don't care what unspeakable acts of perversion you two commit in private, do you have to flaunt it in the faces of decent, god-fearing citizens?"

Thomas rolls his eyes as Newt grabs him by the hand and pulls him away, talking to him. Minho and Teresa continue their way.

"Are they gonna suck faces in an empty classroom or what?"

Teresa snorts, "And imagine now because of the Christmasy season, they'll be all lovey-dovey over each other."

Minho makes a disgusted face, "Ugh, not thanks. Do we have to take them to eat Chinese food with us?"

The girl shoves him, "Don't be mean, Minho. Newt helped you with that assignment, and Tom... he made you laugh while trying to help him study."

He stops in his tracks, "Yeah, he did." he smiled as if he were remembering, looking at the ceiling. Something must have caught his attention as he frowned and blinked a few times, making Teresa look up at whatever he was looking.

A bunch of mistletoe was tied in a silk crimson ribbon, dangling completely innocently above them over the ceiling, and they knew what that meant.

A kiss under the mistletoe.

Slowly, Minho and Teresa locked eyes, none of them moving or saying anything. They felt their hearts racing and wondered if the other could hear it. They could just take it as a joke and move on, walk to their class and keep talking. But there was something alluring at the possibility of being closer to each other without being judged. If they kissed right now, under the mistletoe, it wouldn't matter if anyone saw them. They would just notice the object above their heads and continue with their lives. Simple as that.

"So..."

"So..."

Minho licked his lips unconsciously, and Teresa couldn't find the strength to not look at him as he did so. She knew she wanted to kiss the guy standing in front of her. God, she craved for it! But what about Minho? What if she tried to kiss him and he pulled away disgusted? Feel that she betrayed his trust and never want to speak to her again? She wouldn't be able to live like that. And the rest of the gang? They would look at her like she was some bitch trying to break Minho and Sonya.

Meanwhile, over Minho's head, he was thinking the exact same thing. What if he tried to kiss her and she evades it; according to some girl code, she would tell Sonya about it. He wouldn't be able to look at them again if that were to happen. But looking at the beautiful raven girl standing so close to him made him forget about anything else.

Feeling a little brave -and stupid, don't forget that- he managed to find his voice again,

"I-I think we should just get on with it. Don't you think?"

Teresa blinks a few times, seemingly startled, "Y-yeah, I mean... It's a tradition."

"Yeah..." he sighs, "A tradition."

At the same time over the other side of the hall, Aris and Gally were talking about some homework when the lighter brunet turned his head to the side and saw Minho and Teresa. His eyes widened as he saw the mistletoe above them and he knew what was gonna happen. His eyes caught the sight of Sonya over the corner of the hall, talking with another girl without even noticing the other two. _Yet._

"Oh, shit." he breathed out. He grabbed Gally's arm and pulled him with him as they ran towards the other two.

Back at Minho and Teresa, they leaned forward, their lips were centimeters away. Just a little bit more and they would kiss. They weren't thinking anymore; their bodies moved on their own. But that's when Gally and Aris managed to arrive on time and separate them; the lighter brunet threw Gally at the raven girl as he kissed Minho while Gally kissed Teresa. The other's two eyes widen at the sudden kiss from another person.

They separated abruptly. Gally looked at Teresa with an _'I'm sorry'_ face as he looked somewhere else. Minho blinked a few times because what the heck, a guy just kissed him. Teresa looked at Aris as she tried to understand why her friend would do something like that. Why would he prevent her from getting a kiss from someone he knew she had feelings.

"Aris, what the--

"Oh, there comes Sonya!"

Minho and Teresa froze. _Oh._ That's why. Teresa's eyes widen. Shit. Was she really going to kiss Minho in plain sight of his girlfriend?!

Sonya approached them, stopping beside Minho, "Hey, guys. How're you doing?"

"Um...." Minho tried to talk but he kept speaking nonsense until the words came out, "You guys want to go get some Chinese food?"

The blonde girl shrugged, "Sure, I would like that."

"I don't mind." said Gally.

Aris nodded and he glanced at Teresa, who was looking at the floor, trying to hold her breath.

 

* * *

 

At the Chinese restaurant, the gang (Thomas, Newt, Minho, Teresa, Sonya, Gally, Aris and Alby) was already sat and eating their food, as the place was a buffet-style restaurant.

"I'm so glad this was a buffet restaurant. I was starving!" said Minho as he inhaled the aroma from his bowl of chop suey.

"Yeah, I thought you were gonna bite my arm if we didn't make it here." said Sonya taking her tongue out at him.

"If he's hungry enough, he might." said Thomas as he ate one deep-frying chicken wing.

Minho made an insulted face. Newt was the next to talk, "I don't know, Thomas. I think you were drooling all the way here in your bike."

"Thanks." said Minho as he ate.

Thomas turned to the blonde, "Hey! Which side are you?!"

Changing the subject, Sonya turned to the lighter brunet, "So, Aris, didn't you had dance class today?"

"No. No more classes until January."

_"Mazel tov!"_ said Minho raising his glass.

"Well, that's good. Even though your eye is fine now, you still have to take care. Okay?"

Aris looked at his plate, "Yeah, I'll do it."

Gally saw the way Teresa shifted uncomfortably in her seat, looking away. He frowned. She knew something. He eyed at the lighter brunet, who was talking with Newt while moving his dish of fried rice.

Minho cleared his throat, standing up from his seat, "So, I would like to make a toast."

"You don't know how to make a toast." says Teresa.

"Yeah, well, I'll start now." the raven girl rolls her eyes. Minho raises his glass, "Well, I wanna toast for our grades and that none of us failed any class. Also for this wonderful food, I'm so glad we ate here," they all chuckled, "and also... for our friendship." Teresa smiled softly, "Half of us didn't knew each other until a few months ago and," he said motioning at Alby, Gally and Aris, "well, I'm glad we all met."

"Cheers." said Teresa, nodding at him. They all said 'cheers' too and started clinking their glasses, smiling as they did it.

Minho sits down again, putting his glass over the table and muttering " _'Don't know how to make a toast'_ , my ass."

An hour or so after they arrived and started eating, they were all laughing at the stories each of them told.

Alby was the one currently talking, "And, I mean, I know we must have respect for the elders and teachers and all that... But that statue creeps me out."

"I know. Me too." says Newt shivering.

"Only Janson would put a statue of himself at the entrance of the school." said Thomas as he drank from his glass. He eyed at where Teresa was and found her reading an large book, "Oh, no." the raven girl looked up, "You brought _that_ here?"

" _Wha-_ It's interesting! Listen: "'Biology of the Amazons'." she looks at them and continues reading, "There's a tiny catfish feared more than the piranha. It's called a-

"Candiru." says Aris, biting a dumpling.

Minho frowns, "Say what?"

"This is beautiful. Tell him."

Teresa continues reading, "It will swim right into a man's penis and lodge itself there by erecting sharp spines. _Ow._ " everyone had the same reaction.

Minho shifted uncomfortably, " _'Erecting sharp spines.'_ That's a fish with a sense of irony. Couldn't you bring something that wouldn't hurt us?"

Teresa puts her book away, "What'd you wanted me to bring? Poetry?"

"Maybe."

"Please, I'm not like Aris."

_"Hey!"_ the lighter brunet shoved her, making everyone laugh.

Minho raises a finger, "I have a question. Well, I understand why guys get into poetry. To get girls." he and the boys -except for Newt and Aris- chuckle, "But why do girls like poetry?"

Teresa puts her hand on her hip, giving him a look, "Because girls think with their brains." she raised her hand and she and Sonya high-fived. Newt and Aris laughed at the faces the guys were making. They all started complaining about it, but the topic quickly changed into one with action movies and rom-com movies.

Teresa stood up with her plate with intentions to go to the buffet again. No one seemed to notice it as they were talking and laughing. Gally sees this as his chance to talk with her, so he stands up too as the gang is opening their fortune cookies.

Newt is the first to grab his cookie, "Okay." he cracks opens the fortune cookie, "My fortune says, _'He that is not right is often never wrong.'_ " Newt frowns and stops to think for a moment, "What?"

Minho shrugs and opens his cookie, "All right. Mine says, _'Help, I'm being held hostage in a Chinese cookie factory.'_ " the blonde stares at him with wide eyes as Minho just sits still, "Okay, that's pretty original." he says smiling and then throwing the cookie over the table.

Teresa is at the buffet bar, looking at all the food and trying to figure out which to pick. She feels another presence and sees its Gally standing beside her, also looking at the food. They stood there for a few seconds without saying anything.

Finally, Gally clears his throat,

"So... I noticed the way you acted when Sonya mentioned Aris' black eye."

Teresa inhales deeply. She knew where this was going. "Yeah, so?" she went to grab some dumplings when a hand closed around her wrist, stopping her. She looked up at Gally.

"The others might have bought the story Aris told them. But you and I both know that's a total shit." he looks back at the table where everyone keep talking, "Please, just... tell me the truth." he let go of her arm.

Teresa exhaled, "Okay, okay. But not here; someone might hear us."

She nodded at the back door, which leads to the alley behind the restaurant, where the big green dumpster is. Looking around, he follows her as they exit the restaurant, standing in the cold concrete ground. He putted something in between the door so they could enter back to the restaurant without any inconvenient.

Just as he turned back to face her, he was startled when she started kicking the dumpster savagely, making a dull sound every time she did it.

" _Wow!_ Teresa, calm down! Calm down!"

She continued kicking the dumpster as she made gruntal noises, her hair swinging back and forward with each kick.

"Teresa, you're gonna hurt yourself if you keep-

_"I hate it!"_

He blinked a few times, "What?"

"I hate it! I hate this! He made me promise-!" she turned around and instead kicked an empty carton box, stomping down onto it, _"Argh!"_

"Wha-what is it?" he looks around, "Teresa, someone might hear us-

"Who cares?!" she spat turning to look at him, "It seems nobody cares about these things!" she went to kick the wall, growling in anger as she did it. But also he could hear the sadness, her voice cracking, " _Damn it!_ Stupid Aris!"

Gally walked behind her and turned her around, gripping at her arms, "Teresa, what is-

"I'm not just gonna stand here as an uninvolved observer!" her face was red and her eyes were moist, tears falling down her cheeks, "I'm not gonna be one of those assholes who watches something horrible happen to someone they care about and not do something!" she ended with harsh breathes.

Gally frowned, "What'd you mean?"

 

* * *

 

After they finished eating and they paid for the food, everyone left back to their own house. Arriving at his house, Thomas opened the door and let Newt enter before closing the door behind him. They walked until they were standing over the living room, near the couch.

"So? What was that that you wanted to show me?"

"Wait here." and with that he ran upstairs as Newt sat on the couch, looking around as he waited for the brunet to return. No more than 15 seconds passed when Thomas ran downstairs and sat beside the blonde, his right hand inside the pocket of his jeans. Newt eyed him suspiciously but confused.

Thomas starts speaking, "You know... I think this is the first Christmas I will be able to spend with someone I care as much as I care about you."

"There are still a few days until Christmas, Tommy."

"I know, I know. Let me finish, alright?" he cleared his throat and continued again, "You know that one of the things you'll always end up doing in this season is kissing, right? Well, the only kisses I got on Christmas were from my family. And they don't count. Well, I mean, they count... but not like that, you know."

Newt chuckles, "Yeah, I do."

"And I thought, 'Hey. I get to spend this season with someone as marvelous as Newt. I'll get to spend time with him, cuddle with him, kiss him.' And I just wanted to say thank you. For allowing me to enter your life, for giving me a second chance, for putting up with me. For loving me."

Newt had a soft blush over his cheeks, "Tommy. Even though it's not Christmas yet... I'm also thankful for you."

Thomas grinned and moved his hand to take something out of his pocket, "One more thing..."

Thomas pulled a bunch of mistletoe tied with a red ribbon out of his pocket. He gave Newt a playful smirk before holding it over their heads, "What's Christmas without mistletoe, right?"

Newt threw his head back in laughter, "Oh, God." he shook his head a bit, "I'm in love with a complete bloody dork." he said, though he had a big smile over his face. He grabbed Thomas' face with both hands and brought it towards his face, closing the distance between their lips in a tender, long kiss; the brunet still with his arm up and holding the mistletoe above them.

 

* * *

 

The night of the formal, Newt was over his house finishing putting on his tuxedo while Thomas waited on the living room. Thomas had arrived 5 minutes ago in his motorbike, all dressed up and fancy. He had his helmet and extra helmet over the couch.

Thomas glanced at the clock over the kitchen wall, "Newt! Come on!" he yelled at the stairs, "We're running late!"

_"Patience is a virtue, Tommy!"_ came from upstairs.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not so virtuous." he heard some giggles, so he turned with his back to the stairs, "Yeah, make fun of me. I know what I said."

"You said it perfect." came from behind.

Thomas turned around and found Newt over the last step of the stairs, dressed up in his tuxedo and looking at him with a smile. He smiled too and extended a hand; the blonde took it and they walked towards the living room. Once there, Thomas grabbed Newt by the waist and pulled him closer, kissing him. Newt's arm wound around his neck. Seconds later the blonde separated them, making Thomas pout.

"God, now I just want to stay here and kiss you until midnight."

Newt smiles, "Come on. Weren't we running late and were in a hurry?" he says with a grin as he turned to the door.

_"But, baby, it's cold outside."_ sang Thomas.

"Really, Tommy? That song?" he chuckles, "Come on,"

_"Beautiful, what's your hurry?"_

"My hurry? You're the 'not virtuous' one, remember?"

_"Your eyes are like starlight now."_

Newt rolls his eyes with a smile, "Yeah, okay, you dork." he looks at the clock, "I wonder if the rest is already there."

"Well, Minho must be already there with Sonya. Teresa said she would go in her car."

"And Alby and Gally said that they would go in Gally's car." he grabbed the extra helmet, "So, we're ready to go?"

"Wait!"

Thomas quickly grabbed his helmet from the couch and put it under his right armpit. He opened the door and stood up straight, offering his left arm to the blonde.

"Ready?"

Newt smiled and took his arm with his free arm, interlacing them, "Ready." and with that they leaved the Reed household.

 

* * *

 

Arriving at the school auditorium, Thomas and Newt looked around the whole place and marveled. The ceiling -as well as the whole place- was illuminated with blue and purple lights. The place was filled with snowflakes of different sizes; even the principal door had a giant snowflake arc. There were balloons from different shades of blue tied everywhere. At every corner were white trees with snowflakes on them, and the blue lights made them look icy. The chairs and tables colors were also white and blue. It definitely was _'Winter in Wonderland'._

"Wow. This is really cool."

Thomas nodded, "Yeah, they really excelled this time with the decorations."

_"You betcha."_

They turned and found Minho and Sonya walking towards them hand in hand. The Asian male was wearing a plain tuxedo, while Sonya was wearing a strapless with a twist front bodice soft blue dress ([x](http://www.bridalgownsuk.co.uk/upfile/Bridesmaid%20Dresses/Blue%20Bridesmaid%20Dresses/Strapless%20Twist%20Front%20Bodice%20Natural%20Waist%20Soft%20Flowing%20Blue%20Bridesmaid%20Dresses.jpg)).

"Aren't the snowflakes beautiful?" asks Sonya to Newt.

"Of course they are!" he lets go of Thomas' arm and they walk away little, not too far. Minho chuckles.

"I think my girlfriend just stole your boyfriend."

"Yeah, I think she did. But I'm not worried about it. They're talking about the decorations."

"Kinky."

Thomas shoved him, making the Asian male laugh. As he turned his head to the right, the brunet stopped in his tracks and stared at something. Minho noticed him stop and turned his head to see the reason why.

Walking towards them and looking stunning was Teresa in a black sequin bodycon dress ([x](https://45.media.tumblr.com/79c09a95dfa6e8bc47f09402603a0f6e/tumblr_nbomo2vhIg1ttx0y9o1_500.gif)).

"Wow. Teresa, you look gorgeous." says Thomas.

Teresa smiles, "I know." she looks at Minho, who still hadn't said anything.

Thomas nudges his friend, "Well?"

Minho stared at the raven girl, and felt his throat dry. He couldn't talk. He wanted to tell her how beautiful she looked, how her eyes shinned more because of the lights, that he wanted to dance at least once with her. Before he could decide whether talk or not, Newt and Sonya came back.

"Wow, Teresa." said Newt, "Looking good, girl."

"Yeah, you look beautiful." commented Sonya, standing beside Minho.

"Thanks." as she smiled and nodded at them, the song changed into the next one.

Thomas turned to Newt, "Let's dance."

"Sure." he grabbed the brunet's hand and they went to the dance floor.

Sonya also asked the Asian male for a dance, which he accepted. As she turned around and went to the dance floor, Minho looked back at the raven girl, who stood there alone.

Teresa noticed it as she shook her head, "I'm going to look for Aris, don't worry."

Minho wasn't convinced but he nodded at her and turned around, following the blonde girl. Teresa turned around and started walking, trying to find her friend at the party. People around her were dancing pretty close, so she had to squeeze through them to continue. Looking near one of the big white trees, she found Aris. She saw him standing a few meters away from her with Dan at his side and surrounded by other guys. The dark haired guy was talking with two guys and a girl, while Aris looked around, clearly bored. The others were laughing but he still didn't change his expression.

Over the dance floor surrounded by people, Thomas and Newt were dancing slowly, following the music's rhythm. Newt's arms were around the brunet's neck while Thomas' hands were on his hips. Thomas looked at his right at the face,

"What are you thinking?"

"Mm..." the blonde looked up, biting his lip, "Stuff."

"What stuff?"

Newt smiles, "I'll tell you later."

Thomas smiled too and leaned forward, joining their lips in a kiss. Newt's arms wound tighter over his neck, bringing their bodies together.

 

_But I'm in so deep. You know I'm such a fool for you._

_You got me wrapped around your finger, ah, ha, ha._

_Do you have to let it linger? Do you have to, do you have to,_

_Do you have to let it linger?_

 

Unfortunately, their moment was over when Minho approached him, a red cup over his hand.

"Hey, Thomas. Isn't that the Wicked Witch of the West?" he asks pointing at a safe distance at Brenda, who is looking around. More like searching around for someone: Thomas.

Thomas' eyes widen. "Shit." he lets go of Newt's hands and runs, making his way through the couples dancing.

Brenda catches up with the Asian and Newt, not having noticed Thomas getting away, "Minho. Is Thomas here?"

"Um, he should be."

"If you see him can you tell him to look for me? I'll be over that table," she pointed at a table near the exit.

Minho nodded, "Sure."

She leaves to the other direction. Minho sighs as she leaves, turning to look at the blonde who was shaking his head while rolling his eyes. Just as he's opening his mouth to say something, his hone vibrates in his pants pocket. He takes it out and sees a text from Thomas.

**_'Stay with Newt until I can dodge Brenda. Don't want anyone to dance with him.' -Thomas._ **

He puts his phone on his pocket, "Aye, aye, captain." and motions Newt to dance with him. The blonde puts his hands over his shoulders while Minho's hands slide until they're resting on his lower back. Just as the start dancing, he gets another text,

**_'Move your hands a little higher or I'll cut them.' -Thomas._ **

"Can you see us, you shank?" he asks to himself as he puts his phone back on his pants, looking around.

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's dance," he puts his hands on the blonde's back, looking around to make sure that Thomas -wherever he was hiding- could look at them.

Sitting over one of the tables was Gally, sitting alone while drinking from his red cup and eating some chips. He saw Alby walking towards him, holding two drinks on his hands,

"Hey,"

"Hey. Having fun?"

"Totally." he raises his red cup, "What about you? Where's Ben?"

"At the bathroom." he says nodding at that direction. He notices the way Gally is slumped over the chair and frowns, "Hey, man, You alright?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"You seem a little bumped out."

Gally kept repeating the day at the Chinese restaurant. Teresa's words printed on his brain. "No, I'm just a little bored, that's all."

"You can come and dance with us."

"Naah, don't wanna ruin it for you." he nods at the dance floor, "There's Ben. Go have fun."

Alby looks to see the tall blonde walking out of the bathroom and smiles. He raises his two drinks to Gally and jogs to Ben, offering him a drink. Gally watches as Ben accepts it and drinks it; the he pulls Alby at the dance floor.

Sighing, Gally takes another sip from his drink. Behind him, Teresa walks towards the door and exits the auditorium, being careful not to attract attention.

 

* * *

 

Outside is still chill, being typical of December. Teresa looks at the starry night and lets the cold air caress her skin. She should have brought a sweater or something to cover; but it doesn't matter right now.

She slowly swings her hips from the left to the right, closing her eyes to feel the music. With her eyes still closed, she lifts her hands until they're in a dancing position (like if there was someone dancing with her, and she had one hand over his shoulder and the other in the air) and starts dancing by herself. As she turns around, a pair of hands appear over her; one grabbing her right hand on the air and putting another hand over her waist. She chuckles softly at seeing into Minho's eyes, resting her left hand on the Asian's shoulder as they dance.

"So, what brings you here, to dance all by yourself in this cold night?"

"It's a nice cold night. And I wanted to see the moon." he hums, "What about you?"

"I needed some fresh air."

"Did you?"

"Yeah. Thomas is still hiding from Brenda, so he let Newt at my care. He didn't wanted any guy to ask him to dance while he hide, so..."

She looks around, "And where is Newt?"

"I left him with Sonya. That way you kill two birds with one stone."

She chuckles, slowly shaking her head. They continued dancing, not saying another word. Teresa glanced at the closed door and noticed the music from inside could be heard perfectly; she heard the Asian male humming the song being played,

 

_You know I'm such a fool for you._

_You got me wrapped around your finger,_

_Do you have to let it linger?_

 

He looks at her, their eyes meeting once again. Teresa swore she could hear heart beating right beside her, or maybe it was the music being played aloud. She bites her lip. That motion didn't went unnoticed by Minho. In fact, his grip on her waist tightened a little more. They start dancing around the whole ground, trying to be careful with the slippery ground as Minho twirls her with one hand. He admires as her dark curls float every time she twirls, a smile over her face. He grabs her hand again and they waltz. She didn't felt the cold anymore, just the warmth between their bodies.

Minho twirls her around a few more times before stopping in a swift move, pressing her against his body and staring at each other. Teresa has both hands over his shoulders, while Minho's were on her waist.

_"Oh, there you are."_

They are startled by Harriet, who had exited too and was walking towards them. They separate as much as they can without making it look suspicious.

"Sonya's been looking for you. She said Newt went to the bathroom and that Thomas is nowhere near."

"Yeah, sorry, I was... distracted."

Harriet sighs at him and turns to look at the raven girl. Her face softens, "Your face is all red."

Teresa brings her hands to her cheeks, cupping her face, "Is it?" she breathes out with puppy, innocent eyes, "I-It must be the cold air."

Harriet nods, "Yeah, it's chilly out here." she wraps her arms around herself, "Well, what are you two waiting for? Come in already."

Teresa hurriedly enters the building, while Harriet walks with calm. Minho stays there for a few seconds before walking towards the door as well.

 

* * *

 

As Dan continued to talk with his friends, Aris slowly put his drink down and went to the auditorium back door, exiting the building as carefully as he could. The air of outside was cold, he noticed as he wrapped his arms around his body, trying to make himself warm. He walked towards the other door that lead to the outside part that had chairs and tables too, but it was too cold to stay outside so no one was gonna use them. Aris went to the nearest chair and sat, looking at his hands. He wasn't really paying attention to his surroundings, as he didn't heard the door being opened and someone exiting the auditorium.

_"Chilling night, huh?"_

Aris turns around to look at Gally walking towards him. He had his hands inside his pants pockets. The lighter brunet didn't say anything, just turned his head to the left until he felt the other standing a few meters away from him.

"I saw Dan talking with a pretty red-haired girl."

"So?"

" _So?_ Shouldn't you be at his side tonight?"

Aris glanced at him, "I'm his boyfriend, not his dog." and looked away again.

Gally stared at him; Teresa's words echoing in his head since he had leaved the Chinese restaurant:

 

_'You can't tell him! You can't tell Aris that I told you. He'll never forgive me.'_

 

He clenched his fists inside his pockets, sure as hell that they had turned white. 'Sorry, Teresa. But someone has to do something.'

He manages to calm down a little enough to talk, "You don't mind that he's talking with a pretty girl and inviting her a drink?"

Aris stands up and looks at him, "I'm not the jealous type."

"I thought you weren't the 'my boyfriend hit me' type either."

At that comment, Aris' eyes widened and the dirty blonde could register anger, fear and sadness in them.

"Teresa told you."

"She didn't told me anything. I found it out by myself." Aris huffs, crossing his arms in front of his chest, "Why do you stay with him? I mean, he is attractive, athletic, kind of smart," the brunet gives him a look, "Oh, are you gonna argue that?" the other shrugs.

"Your point being?"

"Why do you stay with him? He just wants you for your body, he doesn't care about your things! He doesn't go and watch one of your dance classes, not even that. He hit you EVEN if it was just one time," he adds when he sees the lighter brunet about to open his mouth, "Heck, he hasn't even noticed you're not in the party!"

"What do you want me to do, huh?" Aris scoffs, "Leave him for you?!"

"No, I want you to leave him for you."

Aris stops in his tracks, his mouth opening and closing several times. His face is flush and his eyes are glassy as if he were to break into tears in any second. Gally gulps. _Hard._

But the lighter brunet stood there, like he didn't knew what to do next. He could feel his heart pounding at this chest, his cheeks hurt from the windy air that blew right at his face.

Gally felt that he was the one who should leave, so turning around, he walked back to the door, entering the building and leaving Aris standing alone.

 

* * *

 

When the hard-rock song had ended -who the hell ordered that?- another slow song was played. Instantly, the couples went to the dance floor. And Thomas and Newt weren't the exception. Newt had his head resting over Thomas' shoulder, their bodies swaying slowly at the music.

"Isn't this nice?" asked the brunet.

"Yeah,"

"All my worries are far, far away."

Newt looked up at him, "You're not gonna worry about Brenda then?"

Thomas groaned, "Don't ruin the mood." the blonde chuckled.

 

_Last Christmas_

_I gave you my heart_

_But the very next day you gave it away._

 

Over the snacks table, Teresa was standing beside it, a red cup of punch on her hand as she took sips from it. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw Thomas and Newt, and smiled. 'Those two will be together until they're old. I'm sure of that.' She took another sip and turning her head to the side she saw Gally walking- more like jogging towards her, a sour expression over his face.

"Hey-" he grabs her drink and in one swift move he drinks it all, "Yeah, okay. Take it easy."

"I talked to Aris." Teresa blinked a few times, "He got mad."

"What did you told him?"

"That I knew. About Dan. Told him I found out by myself," he puts the red cup over the table and sighs, "I asked him why he stayed with Dan and he got mad."

Teresa leans with her back at the table, looking at the dance floor, "Aris' isn't used to trust people, but once he does, nothing that you say to him will make him distrust that person."

"In this case _'that person'_ would be Dan."

"Exactly. But I think it's more complicated." Gally looks at her, "I mean, it's not like we invented that he hit him. Aris knows what happened. That's why it's so hard for him to understand it, and leave that excuse of a guy."

"I did told him to leave him."

She blinked surprised, "And what did he said?"

"Nothing. He just... stared at me."

Teresa grabs something from a bowl -chips, maybe- and brings it to her mouth, "I think you should go and apologize."

Gally looks at her, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah." she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, "Look. Aris' our friend, yes. But he's also a grown up. If he wants to stay with Dan after everything, fine. We can't make him break up with him. He has to take those decisions for himself."

Gally looks at the floor, hands turning into fists.

 

* * *

 

Aris was still outside, sitting over the same chair as he observed the moon. His hands were feeling numb but he didn't wanted to come back inside just yet. He heard the door open and turned to look at it to see who it was. It was Gally, much to his dislike.

"Oh. You again."

_'Who were you expecting? Dan?'_ he wanted to say but he kept it. He was here to apologize and that wasn't any way to start.

"What're you doing here? Coming to tell me that I can't be outside?"

"Wanted to say I'm sorry." Aris looks at him, "I wasn't in any position to say what I said to you, and I'm sorry." _'Okay, that came out great.'_ "What I won't apologize for is for worrying about you." _'Great, Gally. You're talking like Thomas: without filter from your brain to your mouth.'_

Aris didn't say anything, he just nodded. _Oh._ Okay. That came out great too.

"So, we're good?"

Aris stood up and walked towards the door, right beside the dirty blonde. He stared at him for a couple of seconds before answering, "We're good." he looked at the door and up and he stood still. He was staring at something.

"What?"

He looked up and after five seconds he hummed, understanding why Aris had stare at the doorframe and became quite.

There, dangling innocently from the doorframe on a silk crimson ribbon was a bunch of mistletoe right above them.

Aris looks down, letting out a small chuckle. Gally sighs, still looking up, "From all of the places it could be hanged..." he shakes his head. This had to be a prank or something.

He looks at the lighter brunet and sees him biting his lips. Wait. Was he waiting for him to do something? Maybe he was embarrassed about this and wanted to leave, but he couldn't because Gally hadn't said anything in almost a whole minute. _Shit!_

Internally freaking out for a second, Gally closed his eyes, waiting for anything to happen. Aris rolled his eyes but still took a step forward. Gally stood still. It would happen in just a second and then they would shake it off. Damn, he could feel the heat emanating from the other as they were closer. He felt Aris' breath over his lips on a second and on the next one... a peck on the corner of his lips.

He opens his eyes to see Aris taking a step back. He blinks several times before finding his voice, "What was that? What, are you afraid you will like a real kiss?" he asks with a smirk.

Aris rolls his eyes with a chuckle and turns around, ready to leave when Gally grabs him by the wrist, turns him so their bodies are close and brings their lips together in a kiss. Aris' eyes widen for a moment before they close, melting in the kiss. It lasted less than 30 seconds. They separated, looking at each other because _what the hell just happened?_

Gally stood still, not knowing what to say as he looked at Aris' flushed face. He cleared his throat and nodded, "That's how the men in my family kiss."

The lighter brunet laughs softly, shaking his head. _That_ definitely lightened the mood. "You're such a big oaf." he looks at the door, "Maybe I should go back. I promised Teresa I would dance with her at least once."

Gally takes a step back, "Yeah, go. And don't forget that this time you are the one leading, not Teresa."

Aris turns his head and glares at him, "Jerk."

The dirty blonde grins, "Sissy."

The lighter brunet closes his eyes, a small smile appearing over his face. He turns his head back to the front and opens the door, entering the building.

Once alone, Gally lets out a deep sigh. Outside was so cold he could see his own breath. 'Maybe I should enter too.' he opened the door and entered the building as the music changed; the normal lights became stroboscopic lights.

 

[ _There's things I haven't told you_ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHewxPfl1Oo)

_I go out late at night_

_And if I was to tell you_

_You see my different side_

 

Thomas and Newt were jumping with the rhythm, hands in the air and mouthing the lyrics. Minho was dancing beside Sonya and Harriet, who were dancing with each other, laughing at the Asian male's moves. Alby and Ben were also dancing beside them; the dark skinned guy making the robot as the other laughed. From Thomas' left, Aris and Teresa were dancing, looking at each other while swaying their hips.

 

_There's things I haven't told you_

_I go out late at night_

_And if I was to tell you_

_You'd see my different side_

 

Gally walks to the dance floor, and as soon as he is there, Aris and Teresa take note of him. As he passes beside them, Aris and the raven girl grab his hands and pulled him into their dance circle. Even with the loud music, he managed to make out that they wanted him to jump, pointing at Thomas and Newt. Stopping for a second while looking at everyone else -who were also dancing like them. He rolled his eyes and started jumping, one hand up in the air and his head nodding. Aris and Teresa yelled in victory as they continued dancing. They danced all the night, even when they were tired they didn't stop. They took their shoes off and continued, enjoying their times with their friends.

 

_"What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and eternal, and that every path may lead to peace." - Agnes M. Pharo._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow. I think this is the longest chapter I've made. I'm so proud!  
> The next chapter is on Christmas, so wait for fluffy and sweet things~


	31. We Need A Little Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was going to upload this chapter on the night of the 24, but didn't had time. Then I was going to do it the next day, but again, was busy. So finally (before we get to New Year) I upload the chapter.  
> Ugh! I wanted to upload the chapter for Christmas. I love reading those and I'm so happy that I could make one! I just hope you like it.
> 
> But I think you will. You wanna know why I know that? Well, I'll tell you. I finally, finally, FINALLY wrote "the scene". Which scene, you might ask? Well, the scene you all have waited for. Aha, I'm talking about the sex scene!  
> Yep, this chapter contains smut. So, for the ones that don't like reading it, you can skip it, I won't be mad.

_"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful." - Norman Vincent Peale._

 

At the Hale house, Thomas and Stiles were at the living room packing and checking all the stuff they were going to bring to the trip. They had decided to invite Allison and her family to go with them, and much to Thomas's pleasure they said yes. And so they all (the McCall-Laheys, both Hales and the Reeds) were going to spend Christmas together; they were gonna go to a house outside of Beacon Hills (near were Derek used to live), and stay there until 25 or 26 of December.

Derek was at the convenience store as Stiles had asked him to buy something for the trip. Stiles and Thomas were waiting for the rest to arrive as they packed.

"Thomas, put that phone down. I'm sure you can survive two or three days without talking to Minho and Teresa."

Thomas looks up from his phone, "Uh, I wasn't texting them."

"Oh." Stiles nods, "Maybe it was the guy you like?" at Thomas' sudden quietness, Stiles kept talking, "Well, don't be sad. You'll be able to see him soon. Too bad he won't be able to  
come with you. Sorry, just family." he stopped for a second, "Well, Allison is kind of the family so..."

Thomas nodded, "Oh, I think I'll be able to survive." _'Yeah, Newt's gonna come with you. Of course you're gonna be alright.'._ he stood still, his eyes moving over his pops. He smiled nervously and before he could act like an idiot, he was saved by the bell. Literally.

The door opens and the McCall-Lahey family enters the house. Scott opens his arms and says, "Boże Narodzenie!"

"You do know that literally means _'God's Birth'_ , right?"

Scott rolls his eyes, "Can't you say _'Merry Christmas to you too, Scott'_?

"Merry Christmas to you too, Scott." Stiles repeats in a monotonous voice and they hug, "Hi, Isaac. Max, Alex. You guys brought your stuff?"

"Of course!" they both said.

"Great! Now we have to wait for Derek to come back, and Lydia and Allison to arrive."

"Ally said she was waiting for Andrew to come back with some things she told him to buy." said Scott.

"She sent Andrew to the convenience store, too?" the other nodded, "Well, I think I know where Peter might be right now." the dark haired man chuckled.

"Need any help?" asked Isaac as he nodded at the closed door.

"Yes, please."

As the sandy blonde went to grab the suitcases and Scott went to the kitchen for the food in the cooler, someone knocked on the door.

"It's open!" yells Stiles.

The door opens and Lydia, Peter and Malia enter the house, holding some bags with food.

Lydia smiles at the older brunet, "Wesolych Swiat Bozego Narodzenia!"

Stiles walks towards her, "Thanks, Lyds. You too!" and they hug.

"Kick me when I'm down, would ya!" yells Scott from the kitchen. The other two laugh.

Lydia smiles, "Look who we found on our way here."

With that, she turned to the door and waited. Derek entered through the door, the twins clinging to him as he made his way towards Stiles. He gave him a peck and then went to the kitchen, the twins still clinging to him.

"Come on, knock it off, kids." said Peter as he went to the kitchen.

Isaac snorted and exited the house with two suitcases. Derek came back with no kids around him and pick up another suitcase, going towards the car. Peter was over the kitchen with the twins and Scott, and Scott's twins were at the dining room, talking about something.

Thomas looked at the watch over the wall and approached his pops,

"Hey, pops? Listen, I know I said I would help. And I did," Stiles gives him a look, "But I need to go somewhere else before we leave. It's urgent."

"Okay. Just don't be late."

"And I need the car."

Stiles frowns, "What's wrong with your motorbike?"

"Nothing. But I really need it!"

The older brunet stared at him with an eyebrow up but after a few seconds he sighed, "Don't take too long. We leave in two hours."

Thomas nodded and grabbed the keys from the counter, running towards the door and exiting his house.

* * *

Arriving at the hospital, Thomas parked the car and went directly to the building. After leaving his house he had gone for Newt and told him he was going to the hospital to visit the kids. The blonde had offered to go too so here they were. Walking towards the room, the brunet made Newt wait outside so he could tell the nurse that they were here -he had already ask if he could come. Turning to the door, he slowly opened it and peeked his head inside. All the kids were over the small tables, drawing with their backs at Thomas. The nurse saw him and stood up slowly, walking towards the door.

She nodded at him and he entered the room, clearing his throat,

"Hey, you guys."

Every pair of little heads turned at the door and their faces illuminated at seeing the brunet standing over there.

Sierra was the first to run towards him, "Thomas! You came back!"

Thomas kneels so he's at her height, "Well, of course I did. I promised you, didn't I?"

"Did you bring Newt?"

Thomas smiled as the door opened behind him and Newt entered the room, "Well, why don't you hug him and find out!" the little girl rushes towards Newt who picks her up in his arms.

"And you know what else I brought?" he asked as he took his hand out of the door and grabbed something. Every kid was looking at him, shaking their heads when Thomas took a big red bag inside the room, "I brought presents!"

In an instant the brunet was surrounded by kids, all looking at him with shinny eyes. Newt smiled as he watches Thomas giving the kids their presents and the look in the kids' faces as they looked at them. It was a pure and innocent look it melted Newt's heart.

Newt sat on the floor as he watched how the brunet gave everyone a toy. He was now with the last one. He turned to a blue eyed blonde named Steve and gave him a Captain America's shield toy. Those blue eyes shone brighter.

"Wow!"

Thomas ruffled his hair, "Now you're really like Captain America, right Steve?"

"Yes!" he ran back to his friends, showing them his awesome toy.

Thomas smiled and suddenly he felt someone pulling at his shirt. A little girl with long blonde hair was looking at him.

"Can you do my hair?" she asked.

"Eh, I don't know how but I'll try." two other girls approached him, looking at him with hopeful eyes, "Okay. Okay, if I'm gonna do this I want Christy to be the first one. Where's Christy?" he asked looking around.

"I'm here."

Came from behind him, so he turned around and found a little girl with blue pajamas, holding a plush underneath her armpit and green eyes staring right at him. It took Thomas a minute but he identified her as Christy. Her long light-brown hair was gone. She was instead wearing a blue floral headscarf. A woman -maybe her mother- was standing a few feet beside her.

"Is that my sweet pea? That cute little girl?" he kneels in front of her. As he is smiling, he notices she's not. She looking at the floor while clutching her plush tight to her body, "Oh, what is it?"

"You think I look ugly?"

"Oh, no, honey. You look absolutely beautiful."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he puts his hands on her arms, "Look. With or without hair, you're still the same awesome, kind and funny little girl I met a few weeks ago. You're really strong for going through this. Never forget that."

She nodded shyly, "Thank you."

"Thank yourself." he smiles, "You're such a cute little girlie." he hugs her and stands up with her on his arms, "Be a good girl, alright?" he gives her to her mother, "Oh, come back and see me."

The woman smiles at him, "Oh, you have such a way with children." she turns around, Christy waving at him, and leaves the room. Thomas also waves back.

A few seconds pass as Thomas stands up, turning to the rest of the kids, "Okay! Who wanted me to try and do their hair?" three girls held up their hands smiling. Thomas clapped, 

"Okay! Let's do this!"

As Thomas went to sit with the girls, Sierra goes towards Newt and shows him a draw she made. He takes the paper and looks at it as she sits on his lap.

"This is beautiful. Look at the colors and the shapes." he looks at her, "Did you really made this?" she nods, "Wow. I must say I'm kind of jealous of your work." the little girl giggled.

An hour later, Thomas was playing with Steve and the little boys that they were the Avengers and were saving the world. As one of the kids jumped from his bed and onto Thomas' back, the brunet saw the clock.

He pulled the kids down onto the bed, "Sorry, kiddos. I must go."

A chorus of 'oww' was heard.

"But who won?"

Thomas hesitated, "Uh, the Avengers, of course."

"Yay!"

As the kids celebrated for their wining, Thomas smiled and turned around to where Newt was and found him still sitting over the floor with Sierra -having fall asleep- over his lap, her head resting over his chest as he draw something on a paper. Other three kids were surrounding him, also drawing. Thomas walks towards them and sits with his left leg up, his arm resting over his knee and stares at him.

Newt looks at him, "What is it?"

"We need to be back. We almost leave."

"Really?" Thomas nods, closing his eyes, "I don't want to leave. They are such good kids. I mean, look at them."

Thomas looked at the kids drawing on the floor over their stomachs. He turns and sees the boys playing Avengers and telling one of the kids he had to be Loki, the kid pouting. 

Two girls over the corner were the same as Sierra, sleeping peacefully with blankets covering them and with pigtails.

Newt embraces Sierra tightly, "Ooh, I would like one." he says with a smile.

Thomas smiles at seeing the blonde smile and tilting his head until it's resting on the girl's head. There's a couple of seconds of silence in the room; then Thomas looks around.

"There's no-one around. Why don't we just take this one?"

Newt chuckles softly, shaking his head.

* * *

After a couple of hours, they all arrive at the house they had rented to spend Christmas (x). They started to take their suitcases out of the cars and walked towards the door, opening it. Once inside, they all marveled at the inside of the house.

"It's beautiful."

"I wanna live here." said Alex as she looked around.

Max nodded, "Me too." a moment passed before he yelled "I call dibs on the biggest room!"

"No, I want it!"

"Sorry, sis. It's mine."

_"Nu-uh-uh!"_

_"Aha-ah!"_

Isaac stepped into their fight, "Kids, kids! Calm down, alright? None of you will get the biggest room." they both pouted.

"So? How are we gonna share rooms?" asked Allison.

"Well, parents are obviously gonna be paired together," started Lydia while smiling at Peter, who just winked at her. She could hear Malia making a barf noise but she ignores it, 

"So, Stiles and Derek, Scott and Isaac, Peter and I, and Allison and Andrew. Those are four rooms. That leaves one bedroom with a large bed and two rooms with individual beds."

"The twins are gonna share, obviously." said Peter.

"Yes, individual beds. Now, who's gonna-

"I'm not sharing a bed with anyone." said Malia.

"-share. Thanks, Malia," says Lydia looking at her daughter, "Well, then how-

"We'll share a room." says Thomas pointing at Newt.

"You don't mind?"

Thomas shook his head nonchalantly, "Not at all." Newt had the urge to rolls his eyes but didn't.

"Oh, okay!" said the strawberry blonde woman, "Then Malia and Alex, since you two are the only girls you'll share the other room with individual beds. And we're ready!"

"Um, Lydia, you miscounted." informed her Stiles, looking at Max.

" _Shoot!_ I'm so sorry, honey! We'll arrange everything again and-

Max shook his head, "No, it's cool, aunt Lydia. Actually, I was hoping something like this would happen,"

Everyone looked at him confused. What? Alex was the only one who was looking at him with a knowing smirk on her face.

"You brought the hammock?"

"I brought the hammock." he answered with an equal smirk.

Scott chuckled, nodding at Lydia. The woman smiled again, "Okay, problem solved. Now, everyone go to your rooms and unpack. We'll meet at the living room in half hour, okay?"

Everyone agreed and were dismissed. While everyone grabbed their things and went to their rooms, talking on their way to the stairs, Thomas glanced at Newt and smiled. He didn't seem to notice Derek had stay in his place, not following Stiles to their bedroom. Instead, Thomas felt his father grab him by the front of his shirt and stop him in tracks. He whispers so Thomas can be the only one to hear him, 

"Listen to me, Thomas. I know that look in your eyes. That's the _'Hale'_ look; I have it, Peter has it and you unfortunately have it because of me, so I'm gonna say this once. Don't you even think about doing _you-know-what_ while sharing a room with _you-know-who_. Ok? 'Cus nobody is doing _that_ in this vacations, so you shouldn't either. Got it?"

Thomas nodded, eyes wide. Fuck, was he that transparent? Derek nodded too and walked towards the group, who kept looking at the house in amazement and didn't notice their little talk. Thomas stayed there for a few more seconds, their conversation starting to dawn on him. 

Wait...

Did his dad just told him that if he couldn't have sex, Thomas couldn't either?

* * *

Climbing up the stairs and arriving at his room, Thomas entered the room, seeing Newt already unpacking his clothes and putting it on the dresser nightstand.

He leaned over the door's frame, "Hey, stranger,"

Newt turned around and smiled, "Hey,"

Thomas closed the door and walked towards the bed, putting his suitcase on the floor. He then approached the blonde and putted his hands on his hips, bringing their bodies together. Newt wrapped his arms around his neck, their faces inches apart.

"Hi."

"Hi," breathed out the blonde. He looked at Thomas' eyes, "Are you happy?"

"Of course."

"I mean, being here with your family? Your loved ones?"

"Yeah, but more happy about the fact that you are here too. And you're included in the 'loved ones' part."

"Don't start being cheesy, Tommy."

"Oh, I'm cheesy. I'm so cheesy that Julia Quinn will ask me to write a book with her."

"I think I'm more impressed about the fact that you know who Julia Quinn is than being worried about the door not having lock."

"Crap," Thomas ran to the door and put the lock on. _'Mental note, always do that if you're gonna be in a room with Newt alone.'_ He returned to Newt's side, hugging him while pressing their foreheads together.

Newt exhaled softly, "So, what now?"

Thomas shrugged, "We have half hour." he said in a suggestively tone.

"No, Thomas." and with that the blonde leaved his arms, going back to the nightstand.

Thomas whined, "Why not?"

"Are you kidding? My parents are outside. Your parents too. Your whole bloody family is out there and you wanna make out, knowing they could hear us or get in here any second?"

Thomas took a step away, pouting as he did so. Newt rolled his eyes, 'what a baby', and leaned to kiss the brunet on the cheek.

"Come on, we need to unpack quickly."

"Yes, sir."

Half hour later, everyone went back to the living room after unpacking in their rooms.

Allison sat on the couch, "So, what now?"

Scot shrugged, "Why don't we get something to eat? I'm starving."

"Me too." said Max.

"Me too." said Alex.

Malia raised her hand, "I'm in, too."

Peter nods, "Well, it's all settled." he claps, "Why don't we leave the ladies take care of dinner while we do something else?"

Allison and Lydia turn to glare at him. Peter looks at the girls -Alex and Malia- and they are too glaring at him. He looks at the men and makes them a face for help. Isaac clears his throat,

"So, Peter, what was that that you wanted to show us?"

"Oh, yeah!"

Derek said "Yeah, let's do that." and with that all the men -except the young males- went to another room, looking worriedly at the girls. Lydia rolled her eyes,

"Okay. Let's order something before they dare to open their mouths again." with that, she, Allison and Malia went to the kitchen. Both set of twins went to look for a board game to play at the dining room. That leaved Thomas and Newt alone, standing over the living room.

"So..." Thomas started, "Wanna go outside and look around?"

"I would definitely go." and with that they exited the house. Let's just say nobody noticed their absence until dinner was ready.

* * *

At night, everyone was sleeping over their rooms. The adults cuddling with their respective partner, Malia hugging her pillow like it were a plush (or a marshmallow, as she was drooling it), Alex with her sleep mask on and a foot outside the bed, the twins on opposite positions on their beds (Aiden sleeping with his feet facing the door and Ethan with his head facing the door and his feet the wall), and Max happy on his hammock, slowly swinging every now and then.

Over Thomas and Newt's room, the blonde was lying on his side, back to the side where the brunet was on the floor. Before going to bed, Derek had sent a look to Thomas and he decided it was for the best to sleep on the floor. Thomas was sleeping on his back, eyes close and hands clutching the blanket over his chest section. Suddenly, the brunet's foot starts moving up and towards the bed, slowly making its way until it touches Newt's leg. But the moment it makes contact,

"Thomas."

He retracts his foot, _"I thought I saw a spider!"_

Newt rolls his eyes. He stays there, looking at the wall on other side of the room. He felt bad that Thomas was on the floor and not right beside him. Were they animals that couldn't control themselves for one night? Was it necessary that Thomas slept on the floor? It's not that he's going to jump him in the middle of the night, right? So why was he on the floor?!

"Tommy, don't be bloody ridiculous and get in here."

Thomas looks up, "I thought you said we couldn't do it."

Newt turns around flushed, "Not that, you twat! I mean in the bed."

Thomas stares at him but doesn't protest. Not that he wanted to. He moves the blanket away and stands up next to the bed. As Newt lifts up the blanket, he climbs up next to the blonde, his chest glued to Newt's back, spooning. Thomas' arm was around Newt's waist, firmly grabbing his hand and intertwining their fingers.

"What if someone comes in the middle of the night or to wake us up?" asks the brunet, looking at Newt who had his eyes closed.

"I'll just push you over the bed and pretend you snuggled in the middle of the night because you were cold."

He smiles, "Brilliant." and he sees Newt smile still with his eyes close. He closes his eyes too and let sleep take over him.

* * *

The next morning, everyone was already awake at 11:46 a.m. and were outside, looking at the view over the balcony. Lydia and Malia were over the kitchen island having breakfast when Thomas came through the kitchen's entrance.

Lydia smiled, "Hey, sleepy head. You finally got out of bed." Thomas sat on the stool, and Malia snorted at his bed hair. He took his tongue at her as he grabbed the cereal box and poured some on the bowl in front of him. "How did you sleep?"

"Fantastic. The bed was so comfy." _'Also it helped Newt was there the whole time'._

"I know. I thought I was sleeping over a soft cloud."

"That was me." said Peter as he passed behind her and made his way to the other room. Lydia rolled her eyes and took a sip from her coffee.

Newt entered the kitchen moments later, rubbing his eyes. He looked around the kitchen and found Thomas eating his cereal, smiling at him. He smiled back and went to the nearest chair.

Lydia smiled, "Well, here's another sleepy head. Didn't Thomas let you sleep last night?"

They both froze. Newt's hand over the back of the chair and Thomas' hand in mid-air in front of his mouth, his spoon forgotten.

"What?"

"I heard from Malia that you snore."

And a Titanic weight-like was lifted from their shoulders. Newt sat as Lydia stood up, "Yeah. It's just that the bed is comfy."

"That's funny. That's the same thing Thomas said." she looked over at Thomas and his bowl, "Is that all you're gonna eat?" the brunet nodded, making her sigh, "Alright. You two go and wait until I make a decent breakfast. Malia, please help me."

Thomas and Newt stood up and went to the living room as the two women started making breakfast. They sat on the couch, sitting beside the other. They looked around the living room, hearing the sounds coming from the kitchen. Newt noticed Thomas was tapping the floor with his right foot and he knew he wanted to tell him something.

Newt nudges him with his leg, "What're you thinking?"

"Nothing important."

"Tell me." Thomas scratched the back of his head, "Come on."

"Okay." he took some air, "There's a small cabin not too far from the house but far enough so no one finds us there. I want you to go over there after everyone is asleep."

"Thomas..."

"No, listen. I'm not proposing something indecent. I wanted to spend some time alone with you. Just sitting next to you, or laying on our backs looking at ceiling, it's enough for me."

"I want to be with you too, Tommy." Thomas smiled at hearing that.

"Also, wouldn't it be romantic to spend the first hours of Christmas together? Staring at each other and talking until we both fall asleep?" he asked with a little grin over his face. Newt chuckled at that, taking his hand between their legs.

They heard the balcony's window opening and then Lydia's voice as clapped,

"All right people, we're in trouble here! We've only got 10 hours and 36 minutes left to have Christmas dinner ready. Move, move, move!"

Stiles' voice was the first to be heard, "Lydia, I feel like you should have German subtitles."

* * *

At the end, Christmas dinner turned out fantastic –and on time. All the food had been delicious, -especially the chocolate dessert-, they all had been talking and laughing, enjoying each other's company. After dinner came to an end, they all moved to the living room, sitting over the couches and armchairs.

Stiles cleared his throat, "Well, if no one's gonna say it then I will." he raised his glass, "Lydia, Allison, Scott; My compliments to you, guys. Dinner was excellent. Kudos!" the others raised their glasses too.

"And Andrew and Isaac, those mashed potatoes were yummy. I poured three times of the bowl."

"We know." Scott nudges his husband, "I-I mean, thanks." he raised his glass too, smiling at the woman.

Derek raised his glass, "Well, I wanna thank that we all could be here, reunited as a family and-" he stops and looks around, "Where's Peter?"

Before any of them could speak again, the principal door slammed opened and Peter entered the house wearing a Santa Claus costume, a big red bag hanging over his left shoulder.

" _Ho-ho-ho._ Merry Christmas!"

"SANTA!" yelled the twins as they ran towards Peter and launched themselves at him, big smiles over their faces. The rest of the people there smiled too, looking as Peter walked towards the one seat couch with the twins clinging to his body. He manages to do it, sitting both kids on each leg.

"You're here!"

"Where have you been all this year?"

"Mr. Santa, did you die?"

Malia pats her dad's shoulder, "Sorry. I was a little vague on the details. But you have to explain those two imps why Christmas comes only one time at the year."

Ethan turns to look at Peter, "Why can't Christmas come all the time?"

"Yeah Santa, why can't you give us presents all days?" asks Aiden.

"Well, you'll see. If you got presents every day, it wouldn't be special anymore, right?" he turns to the strawberry woman, "Also, Santa's credit cards are all maxed out." Lydia rolls her eyes with a smile. "But the good news is that I brought presents for everyone!"

Aiden and Ethan yelled with excitement, raising both their arms. Peter puts the red sack over the floor, in front of him and takes two boxes, one blue and the other orange. Before he could say which one was for each twin, Aiden and Ethan grabbed the boxes and ran upstairs.

"Well... That'll do." he shook it off and continued. He turned to Lydia, "For this beautiful woman." he gave her a small crystal perfume bottle.

"Why, thank you." she said with a smile and grabbing the fragile bottle.

"The combat boots someone had been asking for." he held the big box to Malia.

"Yes!" she grabbed the box and open- ripped the wrapping paper, taking out a pair of black boots, "Thank you, thank you!" she hugged Peter before plopping back on the couch, kicking off her shoes to try the boots on.

"Next come the others, but not as incredible as us, Hales."

As Peter continued with the presents, Thomas' attention went to the blonde sitting beside his parents, staring like the rest at the presents Peter took out of the sack. He watched Newt's face, how he smiled and how his eyes shined every time he did. God, he couldn't believe how much he loved him. He wanted to spend some time alone with him but hey, these were family vacations. And according to his dad, there couldn't be any sex. Besides, he didn't wanted the rest to found out about them. Not that is weren't good news. But he was kind of worried: what if they told everyone and for some weird reason they break up? That would be awkward as their families are friends and sometimes hang out. They would look at Newt and him as if they had pity on them. He didn't wanted that. Not that they would break up in any near future but still... Oh, god. This is the longest I've been in silence and without making any move; they're gonna think I had a seizure.

As they all nodded at something Allison had said, Thomas nodded too. Then Peter continued,

"Oh-ho-ho, don't think I forgot about the non blood related family." he said, making Allison and Andrew laugh. He took out three gift boxes, "For the lady... a scoop neck black coat with scarf." Allison smiled as she took her present, opening it and taking out the coat. She showed it to Lydia, who smiled at her as the brunet woman hugged it, "For the man of the house, this wine colored button shirt." Andrew smiled as he showed Allison the shirt. Peter turned to Newt with a wrapped rectangle shape-like object -obviously a book-, "And last but not least important. A little bird told me you might like this." he gave Newt his present.

The blonde unwrapped it and his eyes widened at seeing 'Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales' on his hand. He had been looking for it a whole month!

Newt smiled, "Thanks." and without anyone noticing, he glanced at Thomas. He knew he had something to do with his present. Besides his parents, Thomas was the other one that knew he wanted this book. He smiled again, pressing the book to his chest as they all started talking about something else.

The rest of the night went the same, full with funny stories and warm chocolate.

* * *

The house was in total peace and quiet as everyone was sleeping. Well, everyone except for one person.

Newt was lying on his bed over his and Thomas' room, rustling over the covers as he couldn't sleep. He lay on his back, staring at the ceiling as he sighed.

_'What time is it anyway?'_

Turning to his side, he saw the clock over the nightstand: 1:24 a.m. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep but couldn't. His mind began wandering about a lot of things, especially about certain brunet guy. He hadn't seen Thomas since dinner ended and everyone went to their bedrooms.

He remembered what the brunet told him about the cabin and he wondered if there's where Thomas was. Getting up from bed, he went to grab his clothes from the chair and changed. It was still chilly outside, so he couldn't go in his pajamas. He opened the door slowly and looked around, making sure no one was around. He stepped outside the room with his boots on hand and went downstairs, trying not to make any noise while standing on his toes.

Once downstairs, he looked around again; everything was quiet and peaceful. He putted on his boots and went to the door to open it, looking inside one more time before closing the door.

* * *

Arriving at the cabin, he stood a few feet away from it, staring right at it as he took air. Why was his heart racing? Was it fear? Or maybe excitement? What if Thomas wasn't here? Or what if he was? What would happen?

Shaking his head, he made up his mind and approached the door. He opened the door and as he closed it, he looked around the place. It seemed like a typical cozy cabin in the middle of the woods, except this wasn't in the middle of the woods. He saw the stairs and went towards them, slowly climbing them up. As he reached the end of the stairs, he saw something over the floor. Roses petals. They were making a way until the end of the corridor, where a closed door was. He smiled as he thought 'how cheesy, Thomas'. Turning his head while chuckling, he saw pasted on the wall three photographs:

A picture of a couple in Beijing, China, holding a paper with the words "我爱你" written on it.  
A picture of a couple in Paris, France, holding a paper with the words "Je t'aime" written on it.  
A picture of a couple in Tokyo, Japan, holding a paper with the words "私は愛する" written on it.

He felt something move inside his chest. Newt looked around and continued walking, taking slow steps as he stepped on the petals. He continued when he found another three pictures:

A picture of a couple in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, holding a paper with the words "Eu Te Amo" written on it.  
A picture of a couple in Rome, Italy, holding a paper with the words "Ti Amo" written on it.  
A picture of a couple in Moscow, Russia, holding a paper with the words "Я тебя люблю" written on it.

Covering his mouth, he could feel his cheeks getting redder each step he took. His heart was beating faster with anticipation. He just needed to continue until he arrived at that door and his heart would finally stop beating like that. Maybe. A few more steps and two more pictures:

A picture of a couple in Mexico City, Mexico, holding a paper with the words "Te Amo" written on it.  
A picture of a couple in Berlin, Germany, holding a paper with the words "Ich Liebe Dich" written on it.

He didn't asked himself why this time there had been two pictures instead of three; he just kept walking, following the roses petals until the trail end at the wooden door. Biting his lips, he holds forward his hand to touch the knob and slowly turns it around, opening the door. The room was illuminated in a soft light, together with the light of the candles over the nightstands. And there, standing in front of the bed, was Thomas holding a picture so Newt could see it:

A picture of a couple in London, England, holding a paper with the words "I Love You" written on it.

Newt let go of the knob and took a few steps inside, mouth open. He was speechless. This whole scene looked like a scene from some rom-com movie. Not that he mind. He finally found his voice,

"Tommy..."

Thomas looked at the photo over his hands, "I got Teresa and Minho searching for the translations of half of these. I had to buy them like three pizzas and a bag of Hershey's kisses." he chuckled, "I thought it would a lot more complicated with them, but what was I expecting with those two." he putted the photo over the nightstand and approached Newt, "So? What'd you think?"

"H-How could you pay for this, and the gifts for the children and the ones for your family?"

"Remember the weeks I couldn't go out with you because I was very busy working?"

"Yeah?"

"Well..." he scratched the back of his head, "I took some extra shifts to get more money and..."

"Tommy... You did it for this?" he asked looking around.

"I did it for you."

Newt was flabbergasted. His heart was now beating faster than before and his face felt warm. Thomas had spent a lot of worries on this and he wanted nothing more than to be with him, even if they didn't do anything sexual. Newt was completely moved by all this and he couldn't express it with words.

Thomas smiled at him and then his expression changed,

"Shit. The candles. Let me..." with that he walked towards the nightstand and grabbed the matches. Thomas was happy. He got to spend some time alone with Newt for Christmas. Well... they had this cabin until dawn. It was nice to talk until dawn, or to just lay together on bed. Whatever they did it would be nice, since Newt was going to be there. But nothing in the world prepared him for the next words coming from the blonde's mouth,

"I wannna do it."

Thomas stopped what he was doing and stood straight. He turned around slowly and stared at Newt, who was standing with his hands at each side of his body, looking back at him with a sincere look on his face. _Did Thomas heard well? Did- did he just...?_

Newt seemed to notice his dilemma, so he repeated it clearly, "I said I wanna do it."

Thomas dropped the matches. Newt's eyes followed it as it lay on the floor.

"Is that a no?"

"No, no, no, no!" in an instant Thomas was at his side, "No, never a no!" he took some air, "It's just that... you surprised me. Y-you- I mean, we don't have to- I didn't do this to-

Newt cupped his face, "I know, I know. That's why it's perfect. You didn't pressure me into this. I want this. I want _you_."

With no more to say, Thomas growled and leaned forward, kissing Newt as his hands wound around his waist. They couldn't feel the cold from December as their kisses turned the air of the room into warmth, hands roaming over their bodies in a need to be closer. As the brunet went to kiss Newt's neck, the blonde managed to find his voice,

"Thom- _Tommy, oh god._ Do you have... have any, you know?"

That stopped Thomas in a second.

Oh, crap.

Holy Uncanny Photographic Mental Processes.

Faster than a bullet, Thomas separated himself from Newt and exited the room, running to the bathroom -as for what Newt heard the footsteps and door opening. He came back to the room empty handed; he looked around and went to the nightstands. Opening the first one he groaned as it was empty. He jumped over the bed and went to the second one, opening it too and putting his hand inside. He touched something, so he took it out. To his good fortune he found a half empty condoms box. _'Thank you, whoever bought this and leaved them here!'_

Running to Newt's side, he held his hand up, showing the object to Newt, who raised an eyebrow at him,

"Oh, so you were prepared."

"No, actually I'm this lucky."

Newt threw his head back, laughing as he gripped onto Thomas' shoulders for support.

"Just so you know, I don't care how horny I or you are; if you haven't had those condoms here with you, I wouldn't have agreed."

Thomas nods, nipping at his neck, "I know. We don't want to scare our parents if we have a kid on late August." he frowns, making the math, "Wait a minute."

Newt chuckles, shaking his head and kisses him again. "Maybe you should stop thinking about when your dads conceived you and worry about something else."

"Worry about something else?" he frowned again but then it hit him, "Oh! Right!"

With that they went to the bed and sat on it, their lips still glued. Their hands roaming over their bodies, gripping at each other's clothes in an attempt to pull closer.  
Newt feels a hand touching his stomach; Thomas tugs the fabric of the shirt and looks up at Newt with question in his eyes.

"Is it okay if I take this off?" Thomas asks before doing anything else.

Newt pauses for a moment, before a sincere smile appears on his face, "Of course. Thank you for asking first."

Thomas then proceeded to take his shirt off, throwing it at the floor without blinking. He did the same with his shirt. Newt's hand made his way to his chest and slowly caressed it, his eyes glued to Thomas' torso. Thomas carefully grabbed his hand and putted it over his heart, a smile appearing on his face. Newt returned the smile and leaned to kiss him; then they both fell to bed still kissing.

Almost half hour later, they were both completely naked, the rest of their clothes forgotten over the floor, scattered all over it. Over the bed, Newt was on his back with his arms at each side of his body while Thomas was standing beside the nightstand with the lube and condoms on hand. He returned to the bed with the supplies and put them on one side of the bed so he could position himself above Newt.

Thomas began to slowly spread his legs so he could settle in between them, but Newt closed them automatically for reflex. He felt his face getting redder -if that was even possible. Thomas caressed his tights,

"Newt, are you sure you want to do this? W-we can stop, you know?"

"No!" he leaned forward so he was closer to the brunet, "It was just a reflex! I'm not accustomed in being in this position, so..." he bites his lip, _"Please, Tommy."_

That went straight to Thomas' cock, and he swallowed back a growl that attempt to come out.

Opening the lube, he poured some on his fingers, and kissing his way down Newt's chest he proceeded to take his hand between his legs. Newt was breathing slowly, trying to relax when he felt it. The first finger entering him. That finger was tapping and pressing gently inside him. Newt closed an eye when the brunet moved the finger; it didn't hurt, but it felt strange.

Newt groaned, stretching his hands to grab the sheets in a tight lock. As the brunet continued with his task, the only thing Newt could do was grip the sheets and moan. His chest rose and fell erratically, gripping tighter the sheets until his knuckles were white. He was feeling too much pleasure, and it was just from that. _God._ He rolled his eyes, letting another moan out. Then he felt a second finger entering him, caressing his walls. Thomas withdrew his fingers and then pushed them back in, making the blonde buckle his hips. The room was getting more and more warm, the lights of the candles barely illuminating the room but enough for them to see each other.

Thomas, seeing that two fingers moved easily, added a third one while inspecting Newt's face for any sign of discomfort. Hearing a whine coming from the blonde in front of him, Thomas grinned. His neglected member ached and screamed for attention but he pushed it away; right now it was about Newt. He needed to focus on making him feel good.

With three fingers now inside him, Newt threw his head back and groaned something in the lines between _'bloody hell'_ and _'for fuck's sake'_. Few pants escaped his mouth afterwards, eyes barely open as he glanced at the brunet.

 _"Tommy..._ Tommy- _come on._ I-I'm ready."

Twisting his fingers a little more, Thomas took them out and wiped them on the sheets. He went to grab the condom but Newt was faster.

"Let me."

Thomas just stared as Newt opened the condom and putted it on his aching member, giving a teasing tug before taking his hand away. Thomas coated himself with a little more of lube and turned to look at Newt,

"You ready, babe?"

Newt nodded and braced himself. Thomas position himself at the blonde's entrance and with a last look to Newt pushed inside.

 _Oh sweet holy God that reigns the skies!_ The overwhelming velvet heat that enveloped him was something he hadn't felt before. Yeah, he had been with a lot of girls but this was on a far away level. This wasn't just sex. This was a way of connection between two people who trust and love each other. Newt was biting so hard down on his lower lip, it was a surprise he hadn't drawn blood. Thomas noticed it,

"Newt, babe, you need to relax."

Newt nodded and he breathed deep, "Just... give me a minute."

Thomas nodded and did so. He would give all the time in the world to him. As Newt got accustomed to being full, Thomas began appreciating the body beneath him. Those long and soft legs were at each side of his body, he could feel the heels over his lower back. His arms were around Thomas' neck, supporting his body.

"Thomas." he heard the blonde calling for him. A hand fell on his cheek and he looked at the blonde, "You seemed disperse. Are you okay?"

"It's just... I'm really happy."

The blonde's cheeks turn even more red if that was possible and a beautiful smile appeared on his face.

"I'm happy too."

They remained still like that, staring into each other's eyes with love. Suddenly, Newt moved his hips, making Thomas thrust inside him and growl, his eyes closing as he did so. He opened them to look at Newt, who was biting his lip while trying to suppress a smirk. Oh, it was on.

As he started to pound inside him, beginning with slow but deep thrusts, he felt Newt's hands gripping at the back of his head, tugging at his hair. He felt so fucking scorching around him. Their bodies felt so hot he thought he would pass out from the heat. With each thrust, the blonde made different sounds into his ear, occasionally biting it. It only made Thomas go faster.

His mind was racing, and so was his heart. He didn't care about anything else. The rest of the world disappeared. It was just him and Newt. Just the two of them in that cabin. God, he wished they could stay like that forever.

One hand grabbed Newt's tangled hand from his hair and rest it over the bed; his fingers entwining with Newt's, clutching harder as the thrusts became erratic. Their mouths found in sloppy kisses, sounds barely escaping from them.

The rest of the night went like that, filled with gasps and moans and sweet words.

* * *

BONUS, THE NEXT MORNING

 

The dim light of the stars through the grey, early morning sky was what could be seen from the window. The air outside was cold but inside a certain cabin you could feel the warmth, especially in certain bedroom. Two bodies lay on the king size bed, one sleeping and the other having just woken up by few minutes. Thomas was lying on his side, his eyes gloating over Newt's sleeping figure lying beside him, lying on his face turned to him. He had woken up a few minutes ago and he still believed he was dreaming. He couldn't believe his luck. No... it wasn't luck. Maybe some other time he would had said that, but right now, with this gorgeous blonde sleeping beside him, he knew it wasn't _'just luck'_. He couldn't put a finger on what he was feeling. Content, calm, peaceful? Maybe all of them.

The brunet continued to stare at the blonde's face as the other slept deeply. His eyes drifted to the section of skin showing as the sheets were covering Newt's body from his lower back and to the end of the bed. Thomas could see his back rise and fall with his even breaths. His arms were resting up beside the pillow. He smiled and rested his head on his hand, supporting all of its weight on his elbow. A few seconds passed when Newt slowly blinked a few times, finally waking up. Once he gets his eyes open, he noticed the brunet looking at him fondly. He smiled back,

"Hey,"

"Hey. How're you feeling?"

Newt hugged the pillow, "Sore."

"Sorry."

"I'm not." he said with a smile before leaning forward and kissing Thomas.

They separate. The brunet sighed, his eyes leaving Newt's body for an instant as he looked at the sky through the window.

"We need to get back before everyone wakes up."

"I know."

Thomas looks at the ceiling, "Why can't we just stay here; forget about ours parents and stuff. Let them believe that we took a walk in the morning." he stops to think about it, "But when he come back they'll notice your clothes. And if I remember vividly, your clothes weren't the type to endure the cold air from outside." he shrugs, "Well, if they ask, a bear took your jacket."

"That makes absolutely no sense."

"You're expecting eloquence at," he peers at the clock over the nightstand, "4:54 a.m.? The world isn't real yet. It's all just a hologram out there. And you think I'm gonna make sense?"

Newt chuckles, shaking his head while doing so. They managed to return to the house before anyone woke up. They slept a few hours before everyone started to wake up and showering.

* * *

The next morning (or a couple of hours later) as everyone was having breakfast over the kitchen; the twins (both) eating hotcakes, Lydia, Scott and Isaac eating scrambled eggs with bacon, Peter and Derek drinking their coffee -with Malia drinking too from her mug-, and Stiles, Andrew and Allison with hotcakes and eggs on a side. While Newt finished taking a shower, Thomas went down and to the kitchen. He entered the kitchen and greeted everyone before sitting down.

"You look tired." mentioned Scott as he ate.

Lydia poured some hot cocoa on a mug and gave it to Thomas, who smiled at her. "Aren't we all? It's cold outside, Scott." she said to him. Then she turned to Thomas, "You want some eggs?"

"Yes, please."

The strawberry blonde woman smiled at him, and turned to the stove, where the frying pan with eggs was.

As she poured some on his plate, and turned to sit down, a figure appeared on over the kitchen's entrance. Newt stood there with his hair a little wet since he had come out of the shower. He was wearing a baggy cream jumper, and if you stared too long it looked like nothing else. The collar had slipped off one shoulder, showing milky skin with light purple marks. The jumper reach to about his mid-thigh, and showed off long, lean legs.  
Nobody seemed to notice right away the purple marks on his skin. He went to grab the cereal box above the fridge and as he stretched, the jumper lifted a little. Thomas tried not to stare too long but _goddamnit those legs!_

Derek, who was standing next to him, stretched his hand and grabbed the cereal box, giving it to the blonde.

"Thanks." Newt said with a smile and then grabbed a bowl, pouring some cereal and leaving the box on the table.

"Well, someone's hungry." said Lydia as she looked at the blonde.

Newt smiled and took another spoonful of cereal. Allison putted a strand of hair behind her ear, "Well, you did took hours while showering. Did the water turned into ice cubes or something like that?"

"No, it was warm, actually. Why?"

"Because you have little bruises on your skin," pointed out his dad.

Allison noticed the marks on his shoulder and neck and she frowned worried, "Are those... bruises? Was that because of the cold?" she turned to Lydia, "Can the weather cause that?"

Both Newt and Thomas froze. Fuck. _Fuck._ How could they forget that?!

"I-I think it's because of the night." he nods, "Yeah, it was pretty cold."

Alex was the first to talk, "But nobody else has them, right? I mean, I was cold but my skin is still perfect," 'you wish' was heard from Max as she shoved him.

As everyone turned to look at their own skin, searching for any bruise, Newt's eyes fell on Thomas', practically yelling for help. But what could they do?! Something clicked on Newt's mind and as everyone looked up he opened his mouth,

"Actually... Thomas kinda hugs the blankets, so... I spend half night without a cover."

Thomas looks at him with wide eyes. _Wait, what?! Now I'm to blame? What the fu--_

"He also snores," comments Malia. Everyone chuckles at that.

Thomas looks between the two of them, " _What?_ I do not-

"You do." said Stiles, "Kind of like your dad but instead of snoring it sounds like a growl." Derek sent him a look, "Oh, come on, sourwolf. You know it's true!"

As his dads were talking about whether Derek snored like a wolf or not, Thomas looked back at the blonde, questioning him with his eyes. Newt just stared back at him and shook his head, tilting his head towards their family. He looked back at them and found them talking about something else, some of them eating or on their phone.

Oh. _Oh._ Newt had changed the subject and now it was forgotten. Pretty and smart, no wonder why he loved him. He smiled at Newt, who smiled back and turned to talk to his parents.

As he took a sip from his hot cocoa, Malia stood up and went to the fridge. Malia passes beside Thomas and as she drinks her coffee she murmurs "Saved your ass." so only he can hear her.

He tries not to choke for as he now notices that Malia also changed the subject and that she knew very well why Newt's skin was like that.

 

_"Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas." -Peg Bracken._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry! I was going to upload it at the mornging, but then I couldn't find the horizontal line on the Rich Text and I freaked out!


	32. Family Matters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, everyone!

Over the Hale house, the whole family, including both Hales, the McCall-Laheys and the grandparents were there, helping to put down the table for New Year's dinner. Lydia and Melissa were at the kitchen, preparing the food with help from Scott and Malia. Derek, John -Stiles' dad-, Stiles and Thomas were putting the table. The twins (Ethan and Aiden) were at the living room, playing with their mom's phone at some game. Alex was at the bathroom and Max was 'taking care' of the twins. Isaac came back from the store with another bottle of wine; he walked back to the table and putted it over it.

"Another bottle of wine, dad?" asked Thomas, "Do I get to have some now that I'm legal?"

"Let me think about it." he pours some on a empty glass, looking at it before stretching his arm to the brunet. Thomas is about to grab it when it's snatched back, "Not gonna happen." Thomas huffs and walks towards the couch, sitting over it and taking his phone out.

John chuckles as he enters the kitchen. Stiles looks at his husband while Derek drinks he wine, "Well, aren't you lovely?"

Derek rolls his eyes. As he puts the glass down and finishes with the table, Scott peeks out his head from the kitchen,

"Oh, Stiles!" the other two turn to look at him, "I hope you like a polish dish I made. It's called 'Śledzie marynowane'." Stiles smiles at him too. Scott disappears in the kitchen again.

Stiles keeps smiling until the other is gone. "Oh god." he breathes out, leaning to Derek.

Derek frowns, "What?"

"I know what that is. My grandpa used to make it when my mom was alive. It's pickled herring."

Derek's eyes widen in disgust. He looks at the kitchen and back at the older brunet, "Why is your family Polish descent?!"

Stiles looks at Derek with wide eyes and an incredulous look, "Why is your family Scott?!"

Lydia exited the kitchen wearing mittens, "Okay, everybody! We're going to bring the food, so you better be in your seats or help us." she went back to the kitchen. Half of the family went to the help while the other sat on the table.

 

* * *

 

At the Reeds house, Andrew was at the kitchen, finishing cooking while Allison and Newt were putting the table. The brunet woman smiled at her son and caressed his cheek, making Newt chuckle.

"At what time did your parents said they were gonna be here?"

"They said at 8:30 p.m." she looks at the clock on the wall, marking 9:10. "They should be here any minute."

And as if those were the magic words, the bell rang. Allison went to the door and opened it, revealing Chris, Victoria and Kate on the other side, suitcases on the ground.

"Mom! Dad! Kate!" she hugged her mom first, her father giving her a side hug, "I'm so glad you could make it."

"Yeah, we too." said Chris as they entered the house, "Our flight got delayed and your aunt was going to kill someone." Kate hit him over the shoulder.

Then her eyes went to the dining room, over the blonde guy standing there, waving at her. Her smile grew as she walked towards him,

"Well, well. Look at this." she hugged him hard, "How's the most wonderful, handsome nephew of them all?"

"Kate, he's the only nephew you have."

"Hush!" she let go of Newt, but her arm was still over his shoulder. They walked towards the table, "So, tell me what a guy your age does to have fun?"

Chris rolls his eyes as Allison chuckles. As they walk towards the couch with their suitcases, Andrew comes out of the kitchen, wiping his hands. He and Chris have a hand-shake,

"Chris."

"Andrew. How's all going at work?"

The taller man nodded, "Great." he turned to Victoria, "Hi, Victoria." he kissed her cheek as she smiled. Andrew sighed, "Well, are you hungry?"

"If we are hungry?!" came from Kate, who was still hugging Newt, "Darling, you need to ask?"

They laughed and went to the dining room, Allison, Andrew and Victoria went to the kitchen to bring the food as Chris and Kate stayed with Newt.

 

* * *

 

At Minho's apartment, he and his parents were finishing putting the table. His parents had come for Christmas and were staying until the first week of January. Currently, his mom was at the kitchen with his dad; they were cooking together while glancing at each other. Sometime sending a kiss or other touching their arms and giggling. Minho was at the couch near the big glass window, laying on his back while talking to Thomas through his phone.

"Come on! Why can't you tell me what happen at Christmas with Newt?!" he kept quiet as the other talked. He snorts, "Yeah. _'Because everyone deserves to have some privacy'._ Bullshit! When you became my friend, privacy went out of the window. You're gonna have to tell me, you know? Or I'll figure it out and you won't like the methods I will use." he smirks at hearing his friend gulp. He laughs, "No, no, no. Don't try to change the subject by asking me where is Teresa."

He sits, "Although it is a good question. No, no, hear me out. That was so weird. We were making dinner, the four of us when she got a text. She stared at it for a few minutes before she went for her coat and told me she was going to spend New Year with someone else. Can you believe it? Who could that be? Aris?"

On the other line, Thomas stops to think for a moment before something clicked on his mind. Teresa's parents had told her they would be busy for New Year but that they would come for January 1st. Aris was with his family. The other person he know would let her be on their house on a date like this was Miss Paige. She loved Teresa like a daughter and also was alone for tonight.

"Oh, I know who that was. I'll tell you later."

"What'd you mean you'll tell me later? Tell me now! Is it a guy?" he frowns, crossing his arms, "It's a guy, isn't it? Geez, Thomas. How can you let her go to some stranger's house?" he felt something in his chest roar. He didn't like that image.

Thomas blinked a few times, staring at his phone before he finally said,

"Are you... are you jealous?"

There was silence in the other line, not even breathing was heard until "Wha- me? Jealous? What for? She's my friend; I shouldn't be jealous about anything. Pfft. Me, jealous. That's ridiculous."

"Minho, dinner is ready! Hang up already!" yelled his mom.

Minho sighed. Saved by the bell. "Gotta go. My folks are calling for me." he separates the phone from his ear but quickly puts it back, "But don't think I forgot about 'you-know-what'." he smiled, "Okay, goodbye, you ugly shank. Happy New Year to you too." he hangs up and stands up, walking towards the table.

Just as his mom brought the glasses from the kitchen, Minho took out his phone and texted Teresa,

**_'Have a Happy New Year. Wish you the best :)'_ **

He sent it and sat on the chair. His parents sat at the table. He kept staring at his phone, waiting for Teresa to answer him or to at least check his message.

Eliza poured his husband some wine and then to herself. Henry smiled at her and then glanced at his son, watching him with his eyes on his phone.

"Phones down, Minho."

Minho didn't move, he kept staring at his phone. Then a text entered,

**_'Thank you. You too. I'll come back tomorrow. Don't worry; I'm with a motherly figure ;)' -Teresa._ **

He smiled, still staring at the screen of his phone. He felt relief washing over him. At least she wasn't with a guy.

"We're having dinner. Phone down." repeated Henry. Eliza glanced between her husband and son, "I said put your phone away." he hit the table to catch his attention. He did. Minho looked at his dad.

Eliza frowned, "What are you doing? That's mahogany!"

Minho stood up, "Welcome to the Hunger Games!!" he said extending his arms while imitating Effie's voice.

Henry stood up, "NOW! _SIT!_ " he pointed the chair. Minho sat in that moment, looking at his plate. His mom bit her lip, trying not to laugh. Henry sat too, and looked at his son. Minho was glancing at his mom, also trying not to laugh.

_These dorks,_ thought Henry smiling before they all erupted in laughter.

 

* * *

 

Back at the Hale house, the atmosphere is light and playful; everyone's in a good, cheerful mood.

Derek and Stiles were talking, the brunet moving his hands everywhere as he made his expressions. The dark-haired man smiling and leaning to kiss his husband's cheek. Stiles laughed half-heartedly and whispered something in his ear. Peter and Lydia making Ethan and Aiden eat their vegetables, with Ethan eating both their portions happily as their parents were distracted. Malia also slipped hers onto his plate, taking a bite form her juicy meat. John and Melissa were laughing about something funny he said, the raven woman's face all red. Isaac passing the potatoes to Alex and then to Lydia, smiling at them as he did so.

Scott smiles at his kids, cupping Max's face as the other smiles at him. Unfortunately for him he doesn't notice when he turns his head to the table and mindlessly says,

"Daddy, can you pass the croutons?"

It's only until the talking around the table dies down that Scott realizes what's that he said but it's too late. Isaac's hands are already on the bowl, looking at his husband with wide eyes.

And if life wasn't mortifying enough, Derek's hands were too.

Everyone on table went still, eyes on the four men. Scott was blushing, eyes wide as he looked at his husband and brother's hands. Isaac was still holding the bowl, not very sure if he should drop it or wait for Derek to let go. Derek seemed a second away to set something on fire to get out of this.

Thomas stayed still, looking at his pops over the corner of his eyes. Stiles was staring at his plate like it was the most wonderful thing in the world, a faint blush over his face. Dear God, he wanted to crawl under the table and wait for everything to pass.

On the other side of the table, Peter was smirking. Lydia was giving the older brunet a look that said _'really, Stiles?'_. John was looking between his son and partner, his face scrunched like he was trying to understand something. The McCall-Lahey twins were looking at each other, asking in their minds if they should go somewhere else and let the adults control this situation. The Hale twins weren't even listening, just staring at their uncles and their funny faces. No idea what was happening or why their faces were red.

Thanking that God was merciful, as everything was tense and nobody was talking, Melissa was the first one to talk,

"Well," she puts the fork on the table, "that's something I definitely didn't need to know."

Everyone laughs, including the four men, the whole scene buried far away as possible.


	33. This Means (Cupcake)War

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY! The update! Sorry, I was so busy I couldn't find the time to finish and update the chapter.

With the start of the new year and a few months left to end high school, everyone were ecstatic. Thomas and the gang were at school, currently at one of their classes, hearing the teacher explaining their assignment.

The teacher was standing near his desk in front of the class, "All right, guys, tell you what." he claps, "Let's split the class into two separate businesses and see how you do for yourselves. We'll see how you manage to run a business for a week, okay?"

"What will our companies be?" asks Minho.

The teacher looks around the classroom, trying to find something. His eyes fall on the cupcake over his desk and he picks it up, "Cupcakes." everyone nods, "You two are going to be _'Minho and Aris' cupcakes.'_ That'll be your thing for the week." he says pointing at Minho and Aris.

"All right, let's get out there and make some money." says Aris grinning. Minho nods.

"Those are your values, Mr. Jones?"

Aris shrugs, "What else should a company value but profits?"

Thomas clasps his hands, "Well, if I had a company, I'd treat my employees well and make sure we did right by our customers."

Minho turns to look at him, "You are everything that's wrong with this country." he and Aris high five without looking at each other. Thomas snorts at their timing.

The teacher points at Thomas and at Teresa, "Alright. _'Agnes & Hale cupcakes.'_" the other two look at each other and nod, "So, these two competing companies will hire the rest of you guys as employees." he says pointing at the whole class, "Everyone else in school will be your customers. Let's see what happens."

"Here's what happens," says Teresa and then turns to Aris, "we crush you."

"We will be billionaires, and you will eat your words using plastic cutlery." replies the lighter brunet calmly, giving her a grin.

Teresa grins back, "You're hot when you're menacing."

The teacher claps and tells them he will write in papers the names of the rest of the class and let Aris and Teresa pick.

 

* * *

 

The bell rang and they exited their class, walking towards their lockers. Thomas took his books out and as Minho was distracted on his phone, he scurried away and to Newt's locker. He found the blonde taking some book out and closing his locker, securing the books on his arms. He smiled and approached him,

"Hey, you."

Newt turned and smiled, "Hey, you."

"So, you're ready for the cupcake thing?"

"Yeah, it'll be fun." Thomas snorts, "What?"

"You don't know Minho and Teresa. They don't like to lose; they will take this seriously."

"So we should be prepared for the worst?"

"Yeah." he takes Newt's hand, "But as they are worried about beating the other, we'll have time to spend together."

The other smiled and before any of them can do or say anything else, they are interrupted by a voice,

_"Wow, wow, wow!"_ they turn and see Minho walking towards them, "Hey! Romeo and Juliet, you both knock it off!" he separates Newt from the brunet.

"Come on, Min. We're all friends here."

"Yeah, so were US and the USSR." Thomas rolls his eyes, "We're not talking to the competition, alright? You can talk to Newt after the week is over and we had won."

"You sure about that?" said Teresa as she approached Thomas from behind, resting her arm over his shoulder, "Because I know Tom and I will beat you."

"Keep dreaming, beautiful." snorted the Asian male, "We will win this." he said putting his arm around Newt's shoulder, pressing against him.

Teresa takes a step forward, eyes on Minho, "Then I guess you know what this means, right?"

Minho takes a step forward too, "This means war."

With that said, the raven girl grabs Thomas while Minho grabs the blonde and drag them away from each other. This was going to be a long week.

 

* * *

 

At the supermarket, Teresa is walking down the aisle, looking at her phone as she follows the ingredients she and Thomas will need for the cupcakes. Just as she is turning the corner, she finds Aris with a cart and looking at his phone too. They stare at each other and in other occasion they would have laugh.

The lighter brunet is the first to talk, "Oh. So you're here too."

"Yes. I'm here for the ingredients."

"Didn't you had class?"

"Didn't _you_ had class?"

Aris shrugs and continues down the aisle, Teresa beside him, "So... who's on your team?"

"Thomas, Alby and Sonya. Who are your slaves?" she asks with a grin.

He grins back not affected by her words, "Minho, Newt and Gally."

"Ow, those poor bastards. They didn't even had a chance." she sighs, "Well, may the best team win."

"Thank you, we will."

Teresa scoffs and glaring one more time at each other, they turn around and continue with their ways.

Oh, boy. This was war.

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, Thomas jogged over the hallway towards Minho's apartment. He needed his phone charger as his phone was slowly dying in his pocket. Once he arrived in front of the door, he knocked and waited for the Asian male to open.

Instead, the door opens and is Aris who stares at Thomas, putting a hand on his hip while the other was over the knob.

"Sorry, hot stuff, you're not allowed to enter the mighty business of _'Minho and Aris' cupcakes.'_ " he said with a smirk, but that smirk fell by Minho's voice coming from the inside of the apartment,

_"Shit! Fu- These cupcakes are as hard as stones!"_

Aris looked behind his shoulder -glaring at Minho, probably- as Thomas shook his head, ignoring it, "But I need my phone charger."

"Not gonna have much luck, love." and with that he closes the door, leaving Thomas standing there with empty hands. Stupid cupcakes assignment.

The door opens again but this time is Newt, who smiles at him as he gives him his phone charger.

"Here you go, Tommy." and then he gives him a quick kiss before closing the door.

Thomas stood a few more seconds there as he smiled at the kiss and then turned around and leaved. He went back to his house, and as he opened the door, he found Alby, Sonya and Teresa over his kitchen, the raven girl turning her head to him,

"Come on, Tom! We need to get started!"

"How the hell did you entered my house?!"

 

* * *

 

The next day at school, Thomas and Teresa enter the building holding boxes which contained the cupcakes they spend yesterday's afternoon making. Alby and Sonya had the other boxes with them.

"Okay, Tom." she puts on her shades, "Let's go and sell some cupcakes."

Lunch time comes fast -Thomas is thankful for that- and soon the two teams find themselves getting ready to sell their cupcakes. Still inside the classroom of their last class, Thomas is checking the cupcakes inside their boxes while Teresa had quickly gone to the bathroom. Alby and Sonya were at the cafeteria installing the stall for them to sell.

The door opens and Teresa enters, wearing a black and red striped long sleeve shirt, black jeans, and black converse.

"Hey. What's with the outfit?"

"Well, since we are a company, I thought we should had something to represent us, you know?" she stretches her arms out, "This are ours colors!

Thomas picks up one box, "Nice."

"I know."

They exit the classroom and walk with the intentions to go through the hallways, but as soon as they step outside the classroom, they find Minho wearing a black and red striped long sleeve shirt, black jeans, and black converse, standing there too.

He stares at Teresa, "Oh, no."

Behind him appear Aris and Newt, carrying some boxes, "Oh, looks like Dumb and Dumber had the same idea."

Teresa ignores him, "Where's Gally? Already killed him?"

"No. I send him to put the stall in the cafeteria."

While they keep talking, Thomas locks eyes with Newt, who smiles at him. The brunet tilts his head to the side, pointing the empty classroom; he keeps motioning the blonde to go there for a moment. Slowly and without anyone noticing, Newt enters. Thomas follows and the last thing he hears as he closes the door is Minho saying

"Well, one of us is gonna have to change."

And the door closes. Thomas puts down the box over his hands and as he turns around to face Newt, the blonde is already kissing him, arms around his neck and lips pressed hard against his. Not that he's complaining.

When they separate, Thomas exhales, looking directly at the other's eyes, "Hey," he smiles, "What was that?"

"I missed you."

"Well, I'm gonna disappear more often if this is what I get." he said as he putted his arms around the blonde's waist, "How's the cupcake thing going?"

"Fine. I think we are gonna sell a lot. You?"

"Same."

"Well, I hope we both win."

"You're too good for your own good, you knew that?"

Newt smiles and gives him a peck. He separates a little, "We should go out before they notice we are missing."

"Yeah, maybe we should try the back door. We could evade them for the whole day."

"Tommy, I meant go outside to the hallways."

"Oh, right." he chuckles, "Me too."

They separate, grab their boxes again an exit the classroom, finding Teresa and Aris still arguing

"Well... We'll see you at the cafeteria." said Aris.

"Yeah, you will." she nods at Thomas, "Come on, Tom." and turns around, walking towards the cafeteria with Thomas following her.

"Come on, guys. Let's do this." says Aris; Minho and Newt nods and follow him.

 

* * *

 

After school, Aris, Newt and Gally were at the home economics classroom, finishing making the last cupcakes and putting all back in its place. Newt was behind a table, while Aris was putting the powder back into its bag, and Gally was carrying the boxes to his car. He came back and sighed exhausted.

Aris looked at him, "Okay. Good job. Now carry those." he said pointing at the heavy looking sacks of powder over the end of the table.

Gally frowned, "No."

"Wha- come on. Do it, don't be a wimp."

"Then you do it."

"No, I'm the boss, that's why I'm telling you to do it."

"Fuck you."

"Shouldn't you buy me dinner first?"

Newt looks between them, wondering if he should say something. They stare at each other for long seconds that seemed minutes before Aris sighs,

"Okay. If you're not gonna carry those sacks, at least take the trash out."

Gally stares at him thoughtfully before he nods, "Okay." and with that he grabs Aris by the waist and hoists him up on his left shoulder.

"Ha ha, funny! Okay, you've proven your point. Now put me down!"

"Not until I take the trash out." he salutes Newt as he walks towards the door.

"Newt! Continue packing everything while I deal with this brute!"

And with that they disappeared. Newt chuckled and turned to the table, his fingers dancing over the rests of powder. His phone rang, so he took it out and read the text,

**_'Oh, Juliet. Wanna escape and hang out for a bit?' -Your Romeo ;)_ **

Newt chuckled as he rolled his eyes. He looked around and realized he was alone, nobody to stop him, so he grinned and typed back his answer,

**_'I'm on my way.'_ **

 

* * *

 

Newt arrives at the place Thomas had told him to meet and looks around. It was a nice park and there was no one there to bother them. He stood there and waited for the brunet to appear; after a couple of minutes he heard another vehicle approach and saw a cab. Thomas step out of the cab and then it drove away, leaving the brunet on the park. Thomas walked towards Newt,

"Hey. Sorry for being late." he's standing in front of Newt, "I was supposed to be training since Teresa let me have a break of making cupcakes but Minho made me train instead. But I managed to escape." he sighs, "Minho's gonna kill me when he finds me."

"Well, then let's use the time we have wisely." Thomas grinned and he leaned forward, his lips meeting Newt's. His hands wound over the bottom of Newt's back, pressing him against him. Newt's hands rested over his shoulders, the right hand going to his neck to hold him there.

Thomas separated just an inch to speak, "No, really. He's going to kill me."

"Aha, yeah. Less talking, more kissing."

Thomas didn't argue with him, just continued to kiss him. They hadn't had time to be together for the last days and if this was all that he could get right now, he was gonna take it.

Their moment is interrupted when they are illuminated by a truck's light bar, just like an ambush. At the distance they see a vehicle parked and the door opening; they cover their eyes as they see a figure approaching them. Once that person is close enough, they see Minho,

"Crap." muttered Thomas.

Minho started clapping, "All right! Break it up! Break it up! Party's over!"

"Calm down, Min. It was all my fault." said Newt.

"Oh, I know it is. I'm going all over both of you, and you're not the exception." Newt sighed. He turns to Thomas, "And as for you, you bum, you're gonna go to the gym and you're gonna be put through the workout of your life!" he opens the door of his car, "Now get in the car!" he enters the car, glaring at the brunet.

"Okay, okay." he chuckles as he turns to the blonde, who was smiling at him.

"I'm sorry."

Thomas shrugs, "Ah, he'll get over it." he looks around at the roses bush and picks one, giving it to Newt before kissing his cheek.

They hear someone knocking on glass and see Minho inside his car, hand over the glass, _"Move! Move, move, move!"_

They chuckle and Thomas jogs to the car, climbing inside and waving at the blonde as Minho drove away, scolding the brunet.

 

* * *

 

The next day at lunch time, Minho and Aris were walking over the hallway as they talked about the cupcakes sell when they saw some guys running towards the cafeteria and heard the voices of the students coming from the same place. They frowned and looked at each other,

"What's all the fuss about?"

They walk into the cafeteria and see the crowd of students around Teresa's stall -where she was sitting- and they see Thomas standing on top of one of the tables with a little girl with cat ears on his arms. Thomas himself had a pair of wolf ears and a tail that moved as he talked. As Minho and Aris got closer, they heard what the brunet was saying,

"This little girl here is Christy, and she's one of the best persons you will ever meet." he smiles at the girl, "Say, hi, Christy."

The little girl shyly waved at them before hiding her face into Thomas' neck, making everyone go 'aww'.

Thomas hugs her back, "Please help the kids from the Pediatric Oncology Care by buying these cupcakes."

"Son of a bitch." breathed out Minho.

As Minho crosses his arms over his chest, Aris looks at the tail Thomas is wearing and frowns, "What's that hanging from his behind?"

"I don't care. It's going up his ass."

Thomas continued, "Thank you for your time guys! I know that with your help we will make it!" he raised his free arm in a sign of victory. Christy followed, smiling at the crowd.

Everybody starts applauding and they make a line in front of Teresa, who smiles at them as she gives them their cupcakes, accepting the money. Over the table, Thomas' innocent smile changes into a grin as he and Christy high five without anyone seeing. He then looks at where Minho and Aris were and he shrugs, hopping down the table and giving a cupcake to Christy.

Aris stretches his shirt at the Asian male, "Hold me or I'm going to launch myself at him, and not in the sexy way." Minho grabbed it, eyes still on the brunet holding the kid. This was war.

 

* * *

 

Teresa and Thomas managed to sell all of their cupcakes, so they needed to make more. After school over the home Econ classroom, Teresa was with her phone over her ear, trying to reach the other person on the other line. She huffs and tries it again, and as its dialing, Aris enters the room, staring at her as she yells at her phone,

" _Thomas!_ Pick up your phone! _Pick up, pick up,_ _pick up!_ " she sighs and puts away her phone, looking at Aris, "Hey,"

"Hey," he motions at her phone, "What was that?"

"Thomas isn't anywhere around and I don't have more baking powder." she looks at her phone with an angry look, "And he isn't answering his phone! I bet he's with Newt."

Aris nods and some seconds pass before he grabs his satchel and searches for something. Moments later he hands over a plastic bag with powder, "Here. I have some left."

She looks at his hand and takes the plastic bag, "Thanks."

Aris nods, and with that he leaves the room. Teresa puts her phone away and starts cooking.

 

* * *

 

Half hour later, Thomas and Newt were walking down the hallway, with the intention to go to the home econ class for their stuff.

"Nice touch the one with Christy." said the blonde.

"Wha- Come on, it was Teresa's idea. Besides, I will give the money to them."

"Really?"

"Yeah. As long as Teresa doesn't find out."

Newt chuckles. They hear another voice behind them,

"Hey, guys!" it was Sonya, Gally and Alby, who were walking towards them.

"Hey," said Thomas, "What are you guys still doing here?"

"I was looking for Teresa." said Sonya.

"Aris has my keys." said Gally.

Alby nodded at Gally, "Aris has his keys."

Thomas and Newt chuckled and then,

_"There you are!"_ they heard another voice. It was Minho, who jogged towards them, "Thomas, I swear..." he puts a hand over Newt's shoulder, "He can be yours for all the eternity for all I care, but can you just lend him to me for this week?" he looked around, "Where's Teresa?"

"She was at home econ class finishing making cupcakes. I was going there to help her."

"Aris said he forgot something there too, so he went to get it."

They were startled when they heard a big noise that echoed through the hallways. They all looked at the direction it came from. Thomas gulped,

"That came from the home economics classroom, didn't it?"

The others nod and with that they all run to the classroom. Opening the door and almost stumbling as they entered, the saw Teresa running after Aris, trying to catch him. She looked furious, and they all bet that if she catches him, he would be dead.

As Aris ran past Minho, he yelled "Do something!" to him. Teresa ran towards his way too.

Minho manages to grab the raven girl by the waist and twirl her around to stop her. Once her feet touch the ground and stays still, Aris stops running. Minho lets go of her and stands in between them as the referee. The rest of the gang stood near.

"What's going on?!"

"While making the cupcakes I ran out of baking powder, and Aris gave me some but it wasn't that! Ask him what he gave to me instead!"

Minho turns to the lighter brunet, "What did you gave Teresa?"

Aris had his arms crossed, looking at anything but them, "...Powdered cement."

Minho wanted to laugh but bite his tongue against it. He heard Gally and Thomas groan. "Apologize, Aris."

The other sighs, "Fine. I'm sorry." he still isn't looking at them. Minho thinks everything will be alright but Aris adds "It's not like the students would notice the difference between those and the ones you made before."

There's a chorus of _'oww'_ from the rest of the guys. Teresa gives the lighter brunet her best _'bitch, what'd you said'_ face. Minho groans as he takes a step away. Aris looks at the raven girl as she approaches her table and grabs a fistful of powder, walking toward him. His eyes widen in realization.

"Don't you dare--"

Before he gets the chance to finish what he's saying, there's powder on his face, his eyes shut closed, mouth tight. He gasps as he opens his eyes, looking back at Teresa,

Thomas groans, "This is gonna get worse before it gets better."

Angry, Aris turns to the table and sticks his hand in the powder bag, taking it out and facing Teresa. Teresa only manages to open her mouth before her face is covered with white powder, some entering her mouth. She opens her eyes, glaring at the lighter brunet. Before something else happens, they feel something crack on their heads and feel something slimy sliding down. Both of them reaches for their heads and see the eggshells in their hair. Turning to where the attack had come from, they only see Minho and Gally staring back at them.

"Now we're all even... right?" asks Minho.

And that's when hell breaks loose.

They four start throwing the ingredients they had on hand at the others, laughing as they did so. Even though Thomas, Newt, Alby and Sonya weren't throwing anything, they didn't had too much luck. A spoonful of chocolate smashed to Alby's face. Sonya covers her mouth to avoid laughing, even thought it didn't worked. Alby notices that and collected some of the chocolate, making his way towards her.

Her eyes widen, "No, I was- Alby no-

She didn't get to finish as the dark skinned male had grabbed her by the waist, brought her to his body and smeared some chocolate over her face, making her chuckle. She grabbed the nearest egg and smashed in into his head, making him let go of her. She then threw another to Gally's head, who turned around and frowned, mouthing 'who threw that?!' before three eggs hit him, laughter getting louder. Thomas grabbed Newt by the wrist and pulled them behind one of the tables, hiding from the others.

"Take cover, y'all! Take cover!" they heard Alby yell, but didn't do anything about it.

Aris ran to the end of the table for the brand new bag of powder over there, but Gally saw and ran after him, grabbing him and throwing him over his shoulder, holding him there. Aris started laughing as he struggled to get free. From behind the table, Newt pointed at Thomas the other table, where they could be safer. Newt ran there, avoiding getting hit with the food. But Thomas as soon as he peeked his head out, a spoonful of vanilla was thrown at his direction -luckily he evaded it. He groaned as he saw the blonde making him signals to come from the other table before disappearing.

Thomas decided to run for it and almost tripping by the mess in the floor he made it to the other table, finding Newt on the other side looking at the battle.

In some moment, Minho managed to climb one of the tables with some eggs and powder on hand. He threw an egg to Teresa,

"You wanted go to war!?" he throws another egg, hitting Aris, "Motherfucker, I'll take you to war!" and jumps from the table, landing near Teresa and grabbing her by the waist, twirling her.

In the midst of the battle, Thomas crawled over to Newt and when their eyes met they smiled; the two boys facing each other on their knees and their hands pressed in the ground. They leaned forward until their lips were touching; they melted in the kiss, their eyes closed. They didn't felt someone approaching them until they heard a voice,

"Guys, I found them!"

"Get them before they get to the door!"

Thomas and Newt's eyes widen as they tried to get up and run for it, but they lost the battle as their six friends got them; three grabbing Thomas and the other three grabbing Newt. They laughed while they 'struggled' to get free. Newt groaned as he got egg on his hair (courtesy of Sonya), feeling it sliding on his face; he also got some vanilla over his neck (thanks, Alby) and some chocolate over his lips by Aris. On the other side Thomas was nodding, saying 'okay, okay' as he accepted his fate as Teresa painted his face with chocolate. Minho was sprinkling powder on his hair and back of the head while Gally put some chocolate chips over his hair.

At the end, they all found each other laughing. Then they had to clean up the whole mess before someone saw them.

 

_"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life." Richard Bach._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank God I updated. I was so busy~  
> Also I'm so frustrated! I have two ideas for new fics of Maze Runner, but I don't know if I should. I wanted to make one after finishing this (so I don't get distracted), but I don't know which:
> 
> The first one is kind of a mix of Teen Wolf, Charmed, and some things of magical themed shows. Thomas is a werewolf and stuff happens (because why not), so he and his friends (Newt, Minho, Teresa, Aris and Gally) who also are something other than humans- have to save their town. Obvi there's Newtmas and side pairings.
> 
> The second one is about all of them living in a loft together and normal stuff that happens to teenagers (well, 19 year-olds) happen (falling in love, college, jobs, misunderstandings, etc). There's also Newtmas and side pairings.
> 
> What should I do?  
> I was thinking: I could do both, but what if I concentrate more in one and forget the other?! Or I don't have enough time to update and the readers get mad? *raising a sign like Wile E. Coyote* HELP!


	34. It Only Takes A Moment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Another chapter~ But it's kind of short, sorry.

_"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." - Unknown._

 

At school, Teresa and Gally were at the cafeteria, sitting on one of the tables waiting for the rest of the gang to arrive. Gally was eating his lunch while Teresa was with her phone, texting with Airs as the other didn't attend school; he had said he was sick. The dirty blonde looked around the cafeteria when he heard the raven girl laugh while looking at the screen of her phone.

"What?"

"A snapchat from Aris."

As she said that, she gave Gally her phone so he could see it. The snapchat showed Aris' cat -Dr. Robert Oppenheimer- being held up (from behind by Aris, obviously), its legs stretched and with the caption: "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."

Gally rolled his eyes but smiled either way, "Cute."

She takes the phone away, "He does this kind of things when he's bored." she shrugs, "Well, what would you do if you were sick and your friends can't go visit you?"

"I would be doing my homework and trying to get better."

Teresa snorts, "And you still wonder why you don't have too many friends?" she laughs when he playfully shoves her, "But seriously, we should go and visit him. So he doesn't feel lonely."

"I bet he has his boyfriend to take care of him." he spat with venom.

"Yeah? I don't think so." with that she nodded at the front, pointing at something -or someone. Gally followed her direction and saw Dan sitting on a table, talking with his friends and two cute girls at his sides. They were all laughing at something he had said. Then he putted his arms around the girls and laughed louder.

Gally frowns, "That's sick. Aris is back at his house, feeling sick and meanwhile he's flirting with those chicks."

"We don't know if-

She sees Dan leaning and giving the girl on the right a kiss on the cheek.

"-he's flirting with those girls." she finished as an statement.

"Yeah."

"I want to slap him across the face."

"Yeah, me too."

"And I want Aris to break up with him."

"Yeah, me too."

Teresa looks at him as he's staring at the front, a serious look on his face. She bites her lips, trying to contain a smirk and continues,

"And I want to kiss Aris."

"Yeah, me- _what?_ "

"Nothing. Oh, hey, the guys are coming!" she managed to avoid the bullet as the rest of the gang sat on the table.

 

* * *

 

After school ended, everyone went back to their houses while Minho and Thomas went to their works, the later running late as he had offered to take Newt to his work. Minho simply rolled his eyes at the lovebirds and drove to his work. Once he arrived, he entered the building and found one of his female co-workers there.

She looks at him, "Hey, look who's here! Laverne came early!" she looks behind him, "Where's Shirley?"

Minho grabs his waist apron and ties it around his body, "Thomas had to do something before work, but he said he won't be late."

"He better not be late. The boss is out for a couple of hours but if he comes back and doesn't sees Thomas here," she makes the motion of slicing her throat.

"Gotcha." he quickly takes his phone out and texts the brunet.

Moments later, Thomas enters the building, waving at the crew. His phone rang and he took it out, reading aloud the text from Minho,

" _'Move you horny ass back here before you get fired.'_?" he looks up at Minho, "What?"

"Nothing." he throws Thomas his apron.

"Sorry I was late."

The woman behind the bar smiles, "You're not late, Hale. But next time come here early than your friend over there." she nods at Miho, who is looking at his reflection over a glass.

"That I will." he walks towards the Asian male and grabs him by the collar, bringing him to the back of the building to get their things. Moments later they came back and started putting the tables.

As Thomas is at the other side of the table, Minho starts speaking, "So is our sleepover still standing?"

The woman gasped, "Minho, don't you see he has a boyfriend?"

"Not _that_ kind of sleepover! A normal one." he turns and winks at Thomas, who rolls his eyes at him.

"Boring. Why don't you invite your boyfriend," she points at Thomas, "and you your girlfriend?" she points at Minho, "and the four of you have a sleepover."

Minho starts listing, "First, this was supposed to be a guys sleepover. Just us men. And second, I don't think Teresa would like that." then something falls from Thomas hand.

The woman frowns, "I thought your girlfriend's name was Sonya."

Minho stood still as the brunet picked what he dropped, not hearing their conversation. The Asian's face was white and with wide eyes as he looked at the woman. She tilted her head and was about to ask something when Thomas stood up again.

"Here it was. Sorry, I didn't heard the last thing you guys said. Was it important?"

Minho looks at the girl, who bites her lips and shakes her head, "Uh-uh."

Thomas shrugs and continues with the next table. As soon as he turned his back at them, the girl made Minho a sign.

_'I'm not going to forget about this so easily, you know.'_

_'I know! I'll tell you later! When Thomas isn't around.'_

She nodded and turned to work. Minho sighed and went to help his friend.

 

* * *

 

Gally was at the supermarket. Teresa told him to get some soup for Aris (as, apparently, chicken soup is the answer for when you're sick) and bring it to his home. He was walking at the end of the aisle, looking at the shelves when he almost collided with someone else -who obviously wasn't looking either. He turned to face the stranger and apologize when he saw the other person,

"Aris?"

The lighter brunet was standing at the other side with wide eyes, carrying a red basket on his right hand. He didn't looked sick at all. _What?_

"I-I thought you were sick."

Gally notices how long it takes Aris to formulate an answer, "I-I am."

"You don't look sick to me."

"What are you? A doctor?" he turns to leave for another aisle but a hand on his wrist prevents him from doing so. He doesn't move, even after the dirty blonde let go of him.

"What is it?" Aris turns his face to him, something in his eyes that looked sad. "You can tell me."

The lighter brunet bites his lips before talking, "I had a fight with Dan. And I was afraid to see him today at school."

Something inside Gally snapped and his face turned darker; he took a step closer and grabbed Aris by the shoulders, "Did he hurt you?"

"No. No, he... He didn't. But..."

_"But?"_

"I thought he would. He started screaming and then he raised his hand a-and I... I thought he was going to hit me. But he saw my reaction and apologized, and... then he leaved."

"Aris-

"I know what you're gonna say." he sighs, "The same thing that Teresa said: 'You have to break up with him', and stuff like that, but the truth is... I'm afraid. I'm afraid no one will ever love me like that. I'm afraid that he can hurt me more."

Gally looks around for a moment because he can't handle seeing the lighter brunet like this; hear his broken voice, "Aris, listen to me, okay?" the other nods and looks up at him,

"Do you want to live like this? Being afraid that at any moment he can hit you again and tell you he's sorry? Do you really want that?"

 

* * *

 

At night over Dan's place, the dark haired guy is sitting over the dining room eating pizza when he hears the jingling of the keys, announcing Aris arrival. The lighter brunet enters and walks to the table, standing on the other side of Dan as the other eats,

"Hey, babe." but Aris doesn't make a move; he just stands there, looking at him, "My parents aren't at home right now, so I got up a couple of pizza." he sees the way Aris is looking at him and sighs, "I'm sorry, Aris. You know how sorry I am."

You could cut the tension in the room with the butter knife that's over the sink.

Dan licks his lips, "Listen, a guy from Michigan has been coming to the games to look for new recruits and everyone's on my ass and, if I'm being totally honest I'm always feeling like I'm disappointing you." he takes air, "And it doesn't matter. You know why? 'Cause I know I can't lose my cool anymore, and I won't. I promise."

Aris still doesn't move. Dan points at the chair, "Oh, come on, baby, sit down."

"I'm out." Aris manages to say in a firm voice, surprising the dark haired guy.

_"Do you want to live like this?"_ _he heard Gally say before he turned around and leaved the supermarket._

"I got shame about what happened between us, but I leave that here with my keys and with you."

Dan looks at him as if he were trying to understand him, then he looks at the table, "Please, please. Don't-" he looks up, "don't leave me, okay? You can't hate me anymore than I already hate myself."

Aris opens his mouth, eyes puffy and red, "I don't hate you! That's the awful part of it! _I LOVE YOU!_ " he pauses for a moment, "But what does that say about what I think of me?" he puts the keys down on the table before taking a step back.

Dan stares at him for a couple of seconds before his face merges into one with anger and abruptly he stands up; he slams away everything over the table, eyes still on Aris, "What are you gonna do, huh, just walk out on me?!" he spits with venom, "Who's going to love you the way I loved you, Aris? Who's going to love you now?!"

Aris stares at him, remembering what some dirty blonde guy told him. With firm voice and heart steady he says _"Me."_ and walks out.

 

* * *

 

Teresa wasn't sure what she expected at midnight when she heard a knock on the front door, but it certainly wasn't Aris, clothes drenched because of the rain that had fall a couple of minutes ago. He was looking directly at her, eyes glassy and face flushed, droplets of water sliding across his face simulating tears.

"Is Minho home?" he asked.

"He's at Thomas', actually. They're having a sleepover or something like that, and they decided to have it there." she stepped to one side to let him in. Just as she closed the door, back at him, she heard him say

"I broke up with Dan."

She turned to him; staring at him with wide eyes. Moments later she pointed down the hall. "Kitchen. Now."

He didn't argue with her. She got him into the kitchen and flicked on the lights. As Aris sat on the stool, she pulled out two glasses and filled them with water, then slid one over to the lighter brunet. She took seat on the other side of the counter, staring at her friend before taking his hand across the counter.

Minho and Thomas may had a sleepover and stayed awake eating pizza and watching movies, but she stayed all night awake listening to her friend, comforting him until the sun came up and they fell asleep on the couch.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, my brother finished reading the first book of Maze Runner and now he kind of ships Thomas and Minho, and I'm here, sitting like "...um... awkward..." hahaha.


	35. The Truth About Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I'm sure you'll like this chapter :)  
> In the next one will be more Newtmas, I promise. But I won't leave the other things aside, don't worry.

_"And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee." - Matthew 5:29._

 

At the morning on a Friday -fortunately they didn't had classes today-, Aris was awoke and having breakfast over his kitchen at his house. As he ate his cereal, his mom came downstairs and went to the counter,

"Good morning,"

"Good morning." she started making her coffee, "You woke up early." she grabs a mug, "Well, I would also be awake if I had been talking in my sleep all night."

Aris looks up at her, "What you mean?"

With her back at him -as she made her coffee- "Well, when I woke up to go to the bathroom I heard you talking in your sleep. You were talking about a girl that apparently wanted to move out of her apartment because she was in love with someone."

Aris almost drops his spoon. He looks up at his mom, who turns to face him with a smile. She was waiting an explanation.

_'Do what you know better.'_ he told to himself, _'Dance?'_ _'No, you idiot! Lie your ass off!'_

"Oh, that! Yeah... It was a movie I was watching the other day. Yeah, it's about a girl who is in love with her roommate, with whom she is friends with," his mother nods, "and she needs to move out because she fell in love with him."

"Aww, that's so cute! And how does it end?"

"I still don't know." he sees his mother confused, "I-I mean- I didn't finished it! I fell asleep."

"Ow, well, what a shame," she stands up with her coffee, "I would love it if she ended with him." and walks upstairs.

"Yeah..." he grimaces, "Me too."

 

* * *

 

Thomas and Minho were at their works; the brunet was behind the counter while the Asian male was serving tables near the door.

The elderly couple that Minho was attending were leaving and they leave a generous tip on the table; Minho smiled, "Thank you very much." as they leaved.

One of the girls who work with them enters the building, and she calls at Minho, "Hey. Is the boss here?"

"No. It's all clear."

"Good." she enters and hangs her coat over the coat rack, "I had to go to the bank early and there was a long line." she walks towards the counter where Thomas was while putting on her apron; she then turns to Minho while taking an envelope out of her purse, "Anyway, here's the money I borrowed from you the other day. And again, thank you so much."

Minho takes it, "Not problem at all." and goes behind the counter.

"I still don't understand why you wanted it all in singles."

"So I could do this." then he proceeds to throw all the money at the air and dances around it, "I'm rich! Rich, I tell you!"

Thomas rolls his eyes, "Minho, it's only a few hundred dollars."

"I'm well-off! Well-off I tell you!"

 

* * *

 

Over Minho's apartment, Teresa is getting out of the shower; a blue towel wrapped around her head when there's knocking on the door.

_"Coming!"_ she looks over the peephole and sees Aris, so she opens the door, "Hey."

He looks at the blue towel, "Hey... Marge." she rolls her eyes, "Is Minho here?"

"No, he is working. He won't be back in a few hours. Why?"

"I need to talk to you."

Teresa lets him in and closes the door behind him. They go to the living room and sit on the couch,

"About what?" she asks taking the towel off; her black wet hair falling over her face.

"About you getting a new apartment."

"...Okay."

"Okay. Here I go." he takes some air and looks at the raven girl, "Don't kill me but I almost told my mom while sleeping!"

Teresa's eyes widen, "What?!"

"But don't worry, I didn't said anything."

"What'd you mean _'don't worry'_?" she grabs a cushion and starts hitting him with it, "Of course I'm gonna worry! You almost told someone!"

"Hey, hey!" he manages to grab the cushion, "What's the big deal? Why don't you want anyone to know that you're looking for an apartment?"

"Because if Minho finds out he will ask me why. He already told me that he doesn't mind that I'm staying here; he even told me I could stay as long as I want to, and Aris, I'm afraid I will never leave." she sighs, "And if he asks me why, then I'll have to tell him that I can't stand seeing him 24/7 because it makes me feel sad because he will never be with me."

"Teresa, breathe."

The girl does so, blinking a few times, "I mean... He's living with a girl who isn't his girlfriend while his girlfriend is on her house. I don't want Sonya thinking I'm gonna steal his boyfriend. I'm not like that."

"You're not like that."

"I know! But-" she sighs, "People always assume the worst. That's why I don't want anyone to know."

Aris nods, making an 'okay' sign next to his mouth, "Don't worry. I won't tell a soul; not even Thomas will know."

Teresa scratches her neck, "Well... Thomas kind of knows."

"Wha-

"He saw me the other day looking at a newspaper for apartments and asked my about it."

"And you being Mother Teresa didn't had it in you to lie to him?"

She slaps his arm, "It happened so fast! He said he wouldn't tell anyone, so you better do the same."

He nods, "I will."

"No, seriously!" she grabs his hands, "You can't tell anyone about it. Promise it!"

"Okay, okay! I told you, I won't tell a soul." he stops for a moment, "But what will happen if one day I'm sleeping and my mom hears your name? Or if I'm on a sleepover or just fall asleep someone with one of the guys and they hear me? What then?"

Teresa bites her lips, standing up and looking around the apartment, "We may have time." she sits down again, "I kind of found one that I like. I will look at it on Monday and talk about the rent."

"Okay. You do realize Monday is three nights away right? What do you want me to do? Stay awake for the weekend?"

"No; you get irritable when you don't get to sleep."

"Then what do you want me to do?!"

 

* * *

 

"Thank you for letting me stay here."

Harriet smiled at him as she made the guest's bed. After his talk with Teresa, Aris had asked the dark-skinned girl if he could say with her -inventing a story about why he couldn't stay at his own house- and she accepted. That's why they were currently making his bed -after asking her parents. They had already eaten pizza, popcorn while watching movies and had talk; he liked Harriet, she seemed nice.

"It's okay. I normally do this with Sonya but she's sick now and her parents won't let her come to my house."

He passed her the pillows, "Yeah, I get it."

She sits on her bed while Aris sits on his, "But we can talk about the same stuff. If you're not sleepy." she says with a smile.

Aris smiles back, "Not at all."

"Well, this is going to be great."

Hours later, the clock marked 12:48 am, and the two teenagers were still awake and talking. Well, at least one of them.

"So I thought it was for the best, but then my friend Rachel said I couldn't do it, but you know, you want to, and then... Harriet?" the dark-skinned girl hummed, eyes closed, "Are you tired?"

"No, no, _noo_... Maybe a little."

Aris bites his lip, feeling guilty, "We can go to sleep if you are tired, you know."

"Really?" her eyes shined like that was what she wanted to hear. He nodded and that's all that it took so Harriett grabbed her pillows and put them back at her bed. Aris turned around to do the same. She then pulled the covers away and got underneath them.

"Sorry if I don't endure too much. Usually when it's Sonya and me we both start dozing off at the same time and call it off." he nods, "But hey, if you need anything, I am a light sleeper. In fact, you could talk in your sleep and I could hear you clearly from my room." she chuckles at that.

Aris' eyes widen in horror. What have he done?!

Just as he turns around, the lights go off. _Shit._ If he fell asleep now he might tell Harriet while he sleeps! Maybe he can be awake as long as he can.

He lies down on his back, looking at the bright ceiling. Bright?

"Oh, you have the constellations on your ceiling?"

"Yeah, when I was little I used to love stars and all that. So I decided to keep them."

An idea came to Aris mind.

"You know, I can name all 88 modern constellations in alphabetical order. When I was in middle school I did it in 5 minutes or so."

Harriet smiles, "Really?"

"Yeah; it's Andromeda, Antlia, Aquarius, Aquila, Ara, Aries, Auriga- oh, I missed Apus." he clears his throat, "Andromeda, Antlia, Apus, Aquarius, Aquila, Ara, Aries, Auriga, Boötes, Caelum, Camelopardalis, Cancer, Canes Venatici, Canis Major, Canis Minor,"

"Wow, that's very impressive. You know, I-

"Capricornus, Cassiopeia- _Oh_ , dammit! I got it wrong. Again; Andromeda, Antlia, Aquarius-"

As he continues, Harriet sits to look at him, "It's not necessary; you've proven your point."

" _Shoot!_ I lost where I was!" he sighs, "Andromeda, Antlia, Aquarius, Aquila,"

Harriet plops down on her bed and grabs her pillow, and puts it over her head, pushing at it harder.

Several minutes later (as Aris 'sometimes' got one name wrong and had to start all over again), Aris continued to say the names as he looked at the ceiling. There was no movement from Harriet's bed.

"Norma, Octans, Ophiuchus, Orion, Pavo, Pegasus, Perseus, Phoenix..." he stops and looks up at the bed.

Harriet had her back at him (she was lying on her side) and seemed to be asleep. But Aris knew better. He knew she was still awake but was pretending to be asleep so he would shut up. But there was no way he was going to fall asleep and let the girl hear him.

"Phoenix, Pictor, Pisces-

"Oh for the love of...!" Harriet sits on her bed and turns her lamp on, "Aris, Aris! It's obvious that you're uncomfortable being here. Don't worry, it's okay. But you don't have to stay here if you don't want to," he knew she was being polite despite the fact that she wanted to throw him out of her house as soon as possible, "I know you can't be at your house. Is there a place where I can take you?"

Aris looks at the side, an eyebrow up as an idea came into his mind.

 

* * *

 

There's a knock on his door, so Gally mutes the TV and stands up from his couch. Even though it was late, he wasn't very sleepy, so he decided to watch some TV. He walks towards the door and before opening he asks,

"Who is it?"

_"Pizza delivery!"_

Gally frowns and opens the door, finding Harriet and Aris standing in front of him in their pajamas. What was strange was that Aris had a black bag hanging over his shoulders.

He looks at Harriet instead and as he's opening his mouth, Harriet smiles at him,

"Bye!" and with that the dark skinned girl runs away from his house, climbing her car and driving away, leaving Gally and Aris alone.

The dirty blonde guy looks at him and Aris just smiles, raising his hand to head level.

"Hey,"

Gally bows his head and his left hand goes to pinch the bridge of his nose. He turns around and lets the lighter brunet enter his house. As Aris enters, Gally sighs,

"This is going to be a long night."

 

* * *

 

Thomas is woken up by his phone alerting him of a text. He grabs it from the nightstand and unlocks the screen, the bright light almost leaving him blind in the darkness. He frowns as he sees a text from Gally that simply stated _"Open the door."_ Standing up from his bed, he went downstairs, walking towards the door. He opened it and is almost crushed by Aris, who staggers a little before looking up at him with a smile,

_"...Hey,"_ he said slurring the word as he pat Thomas' cheek, "There he is, the handsome boy-boy-boy..." he enters the house and seems a little dizzy. Or drunk. Thomas turns to look at Gally, who had a black bag over his shoulders and seemed tired.

"What's going on?"

Gally sighs, "Harriet dumped him on me, and he couldn't get to sleep, so I gave him a glass of warm milk with a handful of valium in it." Thomas stares at him with wide eyes, "But he still wouldn't shut up, so, tag, you're it." he drops Aris' bag on the floor, turns around and leaves.

Thomas turns to look at Aris, who had a hand resting over the couch and the other on his hip, looking directly at Thomas, "Hey, hot stuff."

"You're acting so weird, but I don't even know why." he says closing the door. He walks past Aris to go get a blanket and pillow at the laundry room.

"I can't tell you."

Thomas returns with a blanket and a pillow, "Why not?"

"I promised Teresa."

Thomas stops for a moment, looking at the other, "You promised Teresa what?"

"That I wouldn't tell you the secret." he sits on the couch, looking at the nothing when suddenly he turns his head, finger over his lips _"Shhhhh!"_

They say that curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back; so Thomas sits closer, "What secret? Tell me the secret."

Aris sighs and then takes air, "Aunt Helen smokes in the car. Jesus is okay with it, but we can't tell Uncle Jack."

Thomas rolls his eyes, "Not that secret, the other secret." Aris turns to look at him with a confused face, "You said Teresa told you a secret, what was the secret?"

"Okay, I'll tell you, but you can't tell Thomas."

Thomas stares at him, an incredulous look on his face, "I promise."

Aris nods, closing his eyes for a moment, "The reason Teresa is looking for an apartment is because she doesn't want anyone to know that she has feelings for Minho."

Thomas stays still, eyes wide and mouth tight. He continued to stare at Aris, who was looking at his hand with a distant look. _'What... What did he just- He just said that... Teresa? And Minho? What?'_

"...Hey, can you feel your face? 'Cus I can't feel your face." he finished with a smile before he face-planted on the couch, finally asleep.

Thomas stayed there, sitting in the couch with eyes and mouth wide open, hands at his sides and his mind racing like Speed Racer. It was too much information to process. _'Did Aris said...? Was it true? Was he high from the meds? Why did he...?'_ He feels a pressure on his chest and frowns. Wait, was it... sadness? But what for?

 

* * *

 

The next morning Derek comes downstairs in sweatpants and a tank top, rubbing his eyes as he yawns. He walks towards the kitchen to make breakfast but before he gets there he stops near the couch. Turning his head he finds Aris lying on his back -still covered with the blanket- and with a blue towel over his eyes, sleeping profoundly. Derek blinks a few times and goes back upstairs. Seconds later, he drags Thomas out of his bed and towards the stairs; the younger brunet goes down alone and approaches the boy's side,

"Aris?"

Thomas has to bite his lip so he doesn't laugh when Aris is startled by another voice, "Who's asking?!" he asks in a terrified voice. His left hand touches the towel briefly before groaning.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, man. I think Dante Alighieri slipped me a roofie."

Thomas rolls his eyes but there's a trail of smile. He goes to the kitchen and pours a glass of water; walking back to the living room he puts the glass on the coffee table beside the couch.

"I thought you would leave in the morning. I was not expecting my dad to drag me out of bed, saying something along the lines _'It's too early for this'_ and then going to his room. Anyway, do you want some easy not so good breakfast?"

"Yes, please."

As Thomas turns to leave to the kitchen, the phone beside the couch rings loudly, making Aris cover his ears,

_"Oh, make it stop!"_

Thomas rolls his eyes and goes to pick up the phone, "Hello?" he walks to the counter, "Yeah, he's still here. Little bit dizzy, but fine." he looks over his shoulder, "I think he called you Dante Alighieri." he listens to the other person and nods, "Don't worry. He will be able to leave after he has some breakfast. Okay. See ya," he hangs up. He looks at the couch and sees Aris sitting up, holding the towel to his forehead, "It was Gally. He will come in an hour or two to pick you up."

"I'm not that easy to woo. He should buy me some flowers." he chuckles, holding his arm out to grab the glass and drink some water.

Thomas looks around to see if one of his dads was awake. No movement from upstairs. Okay, they were still sleeping. Good sign. He walked to get closer to the couch,

"So... Umm, listen. When you were... flying in Valium like Santa Claus, I," the lighter brunet snorts, "Y-You told me something that kept me awake the whole night."

"If I told you that I loved you, don't worry, I told my cat that once when asleep."

Thomas chuckled, "No, no. It's not that." he scratched his neck, "Y-You said that the reason Teresa was looking for an apartment it was because she didn't wanted anyone to know she has feelings for Minho."

He looks at Aris and finds the lighter brunet still, his hands around the glass. His eyes were open wide and his mouth shut tight in a line. He wasn't blinking. Was he even breathing?

Thomas takes the glass from his hands and puts it over the table, "Aris?"

"Oh, no." lets out the other guy, "Teresa is gonna slaughter me like a pig. And they are the lucky ones; she will use her bare hands to do it."

"Wha- what do you mean? Is it- Is it _true_?"

"Yeah! What, do you think I could make up something like that in my sleep?"

"Wait, wait, wait! It's true?"

"Yeah."

"And Minho doesn't know?"

"No."

"Oh, God." he slumps on the couch, "What will Minho think about it? He doesn't feel that way about Teresa."

"Actually, lover boy, he does."

Thomas' eyes widen and he leans forward, _"What?!"_

"I mean, from what I've seen. I'm not a 100% sure." he stops for a moment, "I'm an 88.99% sure, but that's all."

_"That's all?!"_ he repeats in a high incredulous tone, "If you knew about those two and their feelings, how come you haven't done anything?!"

"Hey! If it were for me, I would bring them to the same place, tell them that they have feelings for each other and let them talk about it."

"Then why haven't you?"

"Because I have a brain. If I do that, imagine Teresa's face if Minho mentions Sonya. And he will."

Thomas sighs, "So what do we do? What do we do, Aris?"

"Can't you see that I don't know?! That's why I ended up from house to house! Because I almost told my mom while asleep!"

"Maybe I could talk to Minho."

"Oh, yeah, what are you going to ask him? _'Hey, Min. Do you think Teresa is hot?'_ or _'Do you like her?'_. And if he does feel something for her, he will lie about it. And if he doesn't..."

Thomas nods, "He will still say it and it will be more difficult to manage." he groans, "Ugh. Why does it have to be this way?"

Aris crosses his arms in front of his chest, "What? Love? Yeah, it sucks." he says looking at his left.

Thomas joins his hands and looks at the front, "So what now?"

"I can't believe I'm going to say this 'cus I sound like my mother, but maybe we can talk to them and make them realize that sooner or later they will have to talk about it." he looks at Thomas, "It will only hurt them more."

"I'll talk to Minho."

"And I Teresa."

They both sigh and curl more into the couch, not wanting to get up.

 

* * *

 

Over Minho's apartment, Teresa enters the place and makes her way towards the kitchen. Out of the corner of her eyes she sees Minho sitting on the couch, putting his laptop away.

She smiles, "Hey, what's up?"

"Hey..." he stands up and walks to the kitchen, standing on the other side of the counter, "So... You're going to move out?"

Teresa almost drops whatever she had on hand. She looks away and mutters _"Aris, I'm going to kill you."_

"No, he didn't told me. I, eh," he scratches his neck in embarrassment, "I kinda overhear you on the phone with your mom."

"You were eavesdropping?"

"...Kind of?" the raven girl gives him a look, "Okay, let's forget about that! What I was going to say was that my next door neighbor just moved away because he got married. Or got mono. I don't know." he shakes his head, "The point is, his apartment is empty now. I think you should take it."

"Min, I-

"Please, just- consider it. Okay? That way you'll have your own apartment to do whatever girls do when they're alone," Teresa chuckles, "And also have some privacy, and... You would still be close."

Teresa feels like all the air got sucked out of her. She doesn't know what to say. Could she handle being on the other side? Right in front of Minho? She bites her lip and nods, "I will."

Minho nods and after a few seconds that seemed like forever, he turned around and went to the bathroom. Teresa went to the couch and sat on it; she grabbed a cushion -the one Minho was resting his back- and hugs it.


	36. Romeo, Take Me...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy my dear ones!

Thomas was walking down the street, going towards the flower shop. While falling asleep at the library after driving Teresa at her work, he had the most incredible idea ever and he wanted to surprise Newt with it. He wanted to take him to a nice place for dinner, then somewhere they can be alone to talk or... do things. And then get the chance to wake up and the first thing to see was Newt's face. But first he had to convince Newt and then find their love nest.

Thomas entered the flower shop and saw Newt sitting behind the counter, making a bouquet with flowers of different colors. It looked beautiful. But not as nearly as the boy who was making it. Newt looked up at hearing the bell and smiling at seeing it was his boyfriend. Thomas walked towards him,

"Red roses, please!"

"Hi," he said, and went to the other side of the counter where a bouquet already prepared was laying. The British passed it to Thomas, who looked at it for a moment, before handing it back to Newt with a smile,

"For you."

Newt rolled his eyes, taking the bouquet, "You're such a sap." but stuck the flowers into the nearest vase before leaning across the counter and kissing Thomas softly on the lips, "So what's the occasion?"

"I have a proposition for you."

"Tommy, not in here."

A faint blush appeared on the brunet's face before he coughed, "Not that!" as Newt grabs a box and kneels to put it down on the floor, Thomas continues, "I was talking about something special, for you and me. A romantic getaway!"

The blonde stands up, "To where? Your backyard?"

"Thank you for reminding me that I'm poor." Newt laughed, "But it doesn't necessarily means out of the country. It can be a nice place here, where we can stay all the day together, talking about whatever we want, we'll have food, and stay the night AND it doesn't cost too much money."

Newt stays still for a moment, thinking about it when he looked at Thomas' face. He was grinning and wiggling his eyebrows. Newt knew what that meant and he grinned too,

"Minho's apartment?"

"Minho's apartment."

 

* * *

 

"Please, dude!"

"No. I want to sleep in my bed at my apartment."

After his talk with Newt, Thomas made his way to Minho's apartment to convince his friend to lend them his apartment for tonight and the next morning. But Minho wasn't being too easy about it. He didn't wanted to do it; he wanted to instead spend some time in his room alone.

Minho walked towards the kitchen counter with Thomas behind him,

"Please! I promised Newt!"

"And whose fault is that?!" he says turning to the brunet, "Like my grandma used to say: Gambling debts are debts of honor."

"Minho! I'll owe you!"

"You already owe me $200!"

Thomas frowns, "I do?" he groans, "Min, please! You're the only one I can ask!"

"Huh. I don't know if I should be flattered or feeling sorry for you 'cus apparently you don't have many friend."

"Minho!"

There's a knock on the door, so Minho goes to open it while Thomas was still talking. His mood changes when he sees Teresa standing there; he lets her enter.

"I told you you could use your key."

"It feels kind of weird." she then looks at Thomas, "So what's up? Your conversation is so loud I can hear it all over my kitchen."

"Thomas is being childish. The usual."

"You have your own key?" asks Thomas with (fake) innocence, "It took me almost a month for Minho to even suggest that I should get a key."

Minho feels his face heathen as he approaches the brunet, "Shut you trap, you shank!" he glances at Teresa and back at the male, "Okay, I'll do it. You want me to leave my apartment so you two can have marathonic animalistic sex, fine! But if something happens don't come to blame me."

Teresa rolls her eyes, "I should have put on some earphones and ignore them."

"So you're really going to help me?" the other nods, "Thank, Min! That's so nice from you."

Minho puts a hand over his chest, "I'm always this nice." he says with a calmed tone. Both Teresa and Thomas share a look, "Anyways, while you two are here, where I'm supposed to stay the night?"

"My house."

"So we are going to change houses or something like that?"

"It's just for tonight! I'll tell my dads that you and Newt are staying over, and while they are asleep I'll sneak out to your apartment with Newt."

Teresa raises her hand to catch his attention, "And what about Newt? Will his parents let him stay over?"

Thomas snorts, "Please, T. They are cool, especially aunt Allison. They're not going to say no."

 

* * *

 

"No."

"But mom-

At the Reed house, Newt was following his mother all over the house as she made some phone calls. She had exited her room with the Brit following her and went downstairs,

"No, Newt. I don't want to cause Stiles trouble by taking care of three teenagers." she puts the phone on her ear.

"We'll behave!"

"Yeah?" she puts the phone away, "Like the time you went to stay at your friend's apartment and instead the firefighters had to drive you home because you were drunk?" Newt stilled, "Yeah, I still remember that." and puts it again near her ear.

"Mom, please-

The front door is heard and Andrew enters the house, "Hey. What's going on?" he ask to his wife, who only raises one finger to him and continues to talk over the phone.

"She doesn't want me to stay at Thomas' house for one night."

"Why not?"

Newt plops down over the couch, arms crossed, "She doesn't trust me."

"Still mad at the firefighters incident?"

"Oh my God, it was the first time I did something like that! Let go of it already!" he grabbed a cushion and hide his face on it.

Andrew glanced over at Allison who was still on a phone call; she glanced back at him and raised another finger to him, telling him to wait for her.

"Let us think about it, okay?" Newt looked at his dad, "I'll try to convince her. I'll use my charms." he said grinning.

"Ugh, _dad!_ " Newt pushed the cushion over his dad's face and stood up, walking towards the stairs and to his room.

Over his room, Newt closes his door and goes to his bed, where his phone was lying. He grabs it and dials a number.

On the other line a female voice answers, _"What's up, wonder boy? Ready to say yes to Tom?"_

Newt sits on his bed, "I have bad news, Teresa. My mom doesn't want me to go."

_"Thomas is going to be so bumped about it. He really wanted to impress you."_

Newt smiles, "I know." he sighs, "Well, sometimes you can't always have what you want, right?"

_"Sweet, poetic Newt. You are damn right."_

"Well, I guess I'll stay here watching some movies while eating popcorn. You are welcomed to come if you want."

_"Free movies, food and good company? I'm in."_ she chuckles.

"Okay. I'll start making the popcorn. Don't be late."

When he hangs up Teresa sighs. Poor Newt. Poor Thomas. Moments later she grabs her phone again and types another number.

"Tom, there might be a little problem in your plan." she nods, hearing her friend on the other line, "Yeah... Exactly. I'm going to his house... Yeah, I have time. What for?" she hears him and nods, a smile appearing over her face, "You're lucky you're handsome and that I love you. Okay, I'll do it."

 

* * *

 

At night over Newt's house, the blond and Teresa were lying on his bed watching "Dead Poets Society" while eating popcorn and some other stuff they managed to sneak in his room. They had been watching movies for hours, and even between scenes they would talk about some other topic.

"I swear to God, I love this movie." said Teresa as she grabbed a fistful of popcorn and started eating from there.

Newt nodded, "I know. Whoever says that this movie is dull should rot in hell." he sees Teresa watching him with a smile, "What?"

"I knew that you and I would be good friends." she answered still with a smile. The blonde chuckled at that.

Just as the movie was ending, Teresa's phone rang and she quickly sat up, grabbing her phone from the nightstand. She stared at the screen and stood up,

"Oh, sorry. I have to take this call." and with that she exits the room.

Seconds later there's a knock over the door and Allison enters the room, looking at her son over his bed.

"Hey," she sits over the edge of the bed, "Enjoying the movies?"

Newt shrugs, "You could say so."

"Listen, Newt. I'm not doing this because I don't trust you. And it's not because I don't trust Thomas either or something like that. Is just that..."

"You are afraid that I might do something stupid?"

"I wouldn't call it that but yes." she softly pats his leg, giving him a smile, "You'll understand when you have your own children."

Allison stands up and begins leaving the room when Teresa enters, running past her. "Oh, Teresa. Would you like-

"Hi Mrs. Reed, no thanks." Allison shrugs and leaves, closing the door. Teresa runs towards the blonde at his bed, "Newt, look out for your window!"

The blonde frowns in confusion, "Why? What's going on?" he stands up and follows the dark haired girl.

They both go towards the window. "Just look out your window. Prince Charming is throwing pebbles." Newt opens and leans over the window, looking down.

Thomas was standing there, right in front of where his window was looking -as always- handsome with his dirty jeans and a dark brown shirt. He was throwing pebbles at the other side of the window, whistling as he does so. "Tommy." Newt smiles at him, "Thomas, what are you bloody doing?"

Thomas smiles as he notices Newt, he then coughs as if clearing his throat. "Rapunzel, Rapunzel, with hair so fine. Come out your window, climb down the vine."

Newt looks back at Teresa chuckling and then at Thomas, "The feat you ask, dear sir, isn't easy. And I won't respond to that line, it's far too cheesy." he says going back to the bedroom as Thomas chuckles.

Teresa giggles, "What does he wants?"

Newt was arm crossed, looking at the girl, "He wants me to climb down the vine and go with him."

"Well, do you want to?"

Newt sighs, "Yes. But-

"But what?" she grabs his hands and pulls him near the bed, "Newt! There's nothing wrong with wanting to do things like this. Yes, your mom told you _no_ in the first place because you did something behind her back," the blonde sends her a look, "But we are young! We do this kind of things! We are impulsive!"

Newt looks at his open window. The raven girl tilts her head to meet his eyes and she nods at the TV, "Carpe diem."

 

* * *

 

_"This really is more romantic in books."_ Newt hears Teresa mutter as he continues climbing down the vine, making the brunet boy chuckle. After a couple of minutes later, Newt had decided to go with Thomas, hence why he was climbing down over the vines.

Suddenly, the blonde's right foot slips, making it get stuck into the vines. He tries to move it but is futile, "My foot is stuck!"

He pulls away harder and then a crack sound is heard. Two pair of eyes look at the blonde who begins falling back with a yelp but he grips tight at the vines.  Newt falls from the vines screaming as Thomas catches him, but falling on his back letting out a grunt of pain, the blonde over him with his hands over the other's chest.

The blonde looks at the brunet's closed eyes, "I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?" he asks in awe.

Thomas shakes his head and slowly opening his eyes he lets out a chocked " _No_ , I... I'm getting used to it." they both quickly stand up, Newt helping the brunet to his feet.

_"I'll cover for you. Go, Rapunzel, go!"_ they heard Teresa chuckle as they run towards the brunet's bike, hands intertwined.

Teresa watched them leave as she closed the window. She looked at the door, deciding whether staying or leaving. If she stayed Newt would've been the one to ask his mom. And if she leaved, maybe his mom would come after to check on him. Damn it. She would notice he's not here.

Choosing the better choice, she waited for a few minutes before leaving the room, closing the door behind her. She slowly went down the stairs and passed behind Allison who was having a coffee cup with cookies over the dining room; Teresa coughed to get her attention.

Allison lifts up her sight and notices the girl, "You're leaving?" asked the brunet.

Teresa smiles, "Yeah. I better be going, it's getting late." she says pointing at the door behind her, "Besides Newt fell asleep. He was a little tired, so if it's not a bother, let him sleep until tomorrow." pleaded Teresa, whishing for Allison to not want to go to the bedroom.

The woman nodded with a smile, "Of course." Teresa sighed in relief, and opened the door.

"Good night, Mrs. Reed."

"Good night, Teresa." and with that Teresa leaved.

 

_"Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies." -Aristotle._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tomorrow (February 14) I'll upload a mini chapter, continuation of this one :)  
> Hope you like it~


	37. ...Somewhere We Can Be Alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Valentine's Day!

_"The best thing to hold onto in life is each other." -Audrey Hepburn._

 

Birds chirped like any other beautiful and sunny morning. At the Hale household, everything was quiet and peaceful. That's because the only two who could be doing a mess right now were two teenagers sleeping at the brunet's bedroom. Derek had leaved to work and Stiles was awake, making breakfast. A knock on the door and then Stiles entered the room, ready to wake up the guys inside the room. He leaved the door open as he entered the room slowly. Stiles approached the bed and eyed the sleeping bag where Minho was supposed to be in.

He sat on the side of the bed and slowly moved the body underneath the covers, "Okay, sleepy head. It's time to-" the covers moved, revealing another face, "-Oh, hey Minho."

The Asian boy yawned, "Good morning, Mr. H." he answered as he stretched over the bed.

Stiles stood up and looked around the room, "Where's Thomas?"

Realization dawned on Minho, opening his eyes wide and sitting straight on the bed, "Uh, he, um... he went for run."

"Running?" he looks at the watch on the wall, "This early?"

"Yeah." Minho coughed, "He started doing that about... a week and a half."

"Really?" Stiles bite his lip, nodding as if trying to find it truth, "Well, that's good. It's healthy."

Minho nods too, "That's what I told him."

Stiles was about to leave but turned around, pointing at the bed, "And how come you're on his bed?"

Minho's smile fell, "Eh... Well, since Thomas leaved to run, I-I thought I could sleep in here instead on the sleeping bag. You know..."

Stiles nodded, muttering 'yeah, I would've done the same' before smiling, "Breakfast will be done in a minute, so you can go down if you want."

"Thank you so much, Mr. H." as Stiles closed the door he said, "I'll be down in a minute!" and the door closed. Minho kept his cool for 5 seconds and then he jumped out of bed, "Damn it!" he grabbed his phone and sent a text to the brunet, "You better see it, you shank!"

 

* * *

 

At Minho's apartment, two figures were still lying on the bed at Thomas' room. The brunet slowly moved, his face directed at the blonde's face. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at Newt's peaceful sleeping face. He smiled and rested his head on his hand, supporting all of its weight on his elbow.

After a few seconds, Newt slowly blinked a few times, waking up; he noticed the brunet looking at him fondly and smiled too, "Morning."

"Morning."

Newt turned his body so he was lying on his side, facing Thomas, "What are you thinking?"

"Wishing I could wake up every day like this. Looking at your beautiful face."

Newt rolled his eyes with a smile and hugged Thomas, kissing him. The brunet smiled into the kiss and putted his hands at the other's waist, pressing their bodies together. Just as the kiss became heated, Thomas' phone vibrated.

"Your phone."

Thomas shrugged in the kiss, "Let it ring."

The blonde separated, "It could be important."

Thomas groaned and turned around to grab his phone, checking any messages from today. As he did, the blonde noticed how he stiffed, "Oh no."

Newt sat on the bed, the covers covering from the waist and down, "What?"

"It's from Minho. He said my pops came to my room and asked for me. Min covered for me, but he says that I have to be there for the next minutes, he told my pops I went running."

Newt grinned, "Nice."

"I don't have much time! Fuck!" he jump of bed and quickly grabbed his jeans from the floor, putting them on with a hand still holding his phone.

"Tommy, relax. We'll drive to your house and nothing will happen." he said as he stood up, looking for his own clothes, "At least the only one at your house right now is Minho. You don't need to worry about anyone else, right?"

Thomas' eyes widen and he looked back at the blonde, still holding his phone. _Fuck me sideways._

 

* * *

 

The doorbell rang, so Stiles went to open the door. He did so and he found himself looking at a familiar face.

"Teresa. Good morning."

"Good morning, Mr. Hale."

Stiles moved aside, "Come on in, come in. I'm making breakfast. You want some?"

Teresa entered the house, the door closing behind her, "Yes, thank you very much." she said smiling.

Stiles went to the kitchen with the stove on, "Why are you here so early, Teresa?"

Just as Teresa was about to open her mouth and answer, a voice stopped her from doing that.

_"Teresa!"_ said Minho while going down the stairs and towards the girl.

Teresa frowned, "Minho? What are you doing here?"

"Didn't I told you? I came here to spend the night 'cus I thought my apartment could be left alone..." with his head he points at the kitchen where Stiles was, "so I slept over here with Thomas. And he went to run a little this morning, that's why he's not here."

Teresa looked back at the older brunet making scrambled eggs and again at the Asian, "Oh. _Oh_." he nods at her, "That's right! I completely forgot."

Stiles turns around and puts two full plates at the counter; Teresa and Minho sit in front of them and then he turns around again. In that moment, the brunet's phone rings. "Hello? Oh, hey Allison." Minho's and Teresa's eyes widen, "What's up? ... What do you mean he's not there?" the teens look at each other, "Maybe he went for a walk. Didn't he leave a note? ... Well, I don't know. Who was the last one to see him?" he stops for a moment and then looks back at the nervous teenagers, leering at them, "I'll call you back later." he hangs his phone, still looking at them. Teresa and Minho were trying not to look at him, instead concentrating on their plates as if they didn't knew anything. As Stiles pointed at them suspiciously with a confused face, the door slammed open.

"We're back!" yelled Thomas. He looked sweaty and tired, and was being held by Newt. They both entered the house. Minho and Teresa stood up, walking towards them, and so did Stiles.

"Hey! How was your running?" asked Minho, his eyes pointing at the older brunet.

Thomas nodded, "Oh, it was good."

"Good morning, Mr. Hale." said Newt, waving at him.

"Good morning, Newt." he frowned, "Don't get me wrong, but why are you here?"

Teresa intervened, "Oh! He was with me when we were driving back here. We wanted to surprise the guys." she finished with a smile.

Stiles points at them, "Then how come he wasn't here with you when you arrived?"

Silence fell on the gang, not knowing what to answer. Fortunately, the blonde knew what to say, "We were on our way when I told Teresa I thought I saw Thomas running down the street. I yelled at him but he didn't heard me, so I hopped off of the car and went to chase him. Teresa continued her path towards here. I told her I catch her in a few minutes."

"Why didn't you said it when I was at the phone with his mom?"

"I..." she shrugs, "didn't think it was relevant. And I also didn't knew that you were talking about Newt." they all nod.

Stiles looks at them for a long pause, "Okay... I'm going to pretend I believed your story but only if you don't tell your dad."

"Deal." said Thomas.

"Okay. Who wants some breakfast?" four hands shot up.


	38. Necessary Roughness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GOD FUCKING FINALLY!!  
> I finally updated and returned to the fic! Sorry, really, so sorry if you've been waiting for the new chapter! It's been what? A month and a half? I REALLY need to stop doing that (taking too much to update). But anyways, finally it's here, and don't worry, I'm not going to dissapear again.  
> Putting that aside, I hope that you enjoy this chapter!!

Over the school, Teresa was walking down the hall as she made her way to her next class when she sees Miss Paige walking on the other side of the hall. She had a bunch of papers on her arms that seemed like they were gonna-

One of the papers slipped from the bunch and as she went to grab it, the rest of the papers fell all over the floor. The blonde woman sighed and kneeled to pick them up. Teresa crosses her satchel over her back and walks to the woman. As the blonde woman is picking up the papers beside her, Teresa kneels and picks up to others.

"Let me help you."

Ava smiles, "Thank you, my child."

They stand up each carrying papers and start walking together, going to -Teresa guessed- the principal's office,

"So how you've been?"

"Fine. A little tired because of the projects but fine."

"I'm glad to hear that. And your parents?"

"Fine. They called me to apologize for not being with me at Christmas and New Year. But I told them I didn't spend it alone." she smiles.

The woman smiled back, and did so all the way to the office. They continued talking about how their weekend had gone, and before they knew, they had reached the office. Standing beside the door, Teresa gave back the papers to the woman.

Teresa looked at the door, "Well, I guess this is where we part away."

"Yes. But fear not, my child. We won't be apart for too long."

Teresa felt her heart clench. That was what she used to say to Teresa when she was little and had to go back, leaving Teresa alone at the foster house she was. Teresa always smiled and felt at ease when hearing those words. She felt like home.

Noticing she was taking too much to answer, she simply nodded and waved awkwardly as she walked away. She glanced back and saw as the blonde woman entered the office, door closing behind her. Teresa smiles once more before walking to her class, the bell ringing just in time.

 

* * *

 

Two classes later and the bell rang, everyone exiting their classroom. Thomas, Minho and Aris exited Maths class, walking through the hallway,

"Ugh, I swear I didn't understand anything the teacher was saying."

Thomas rubs his eyes, "You think? I practically fell asleep on his class! Now I need to get the notes so I can do the homework." he turns to look at Minho.

Minho notices him, "Dude, didn't you just heard me saying that I didn't understood anything?"

Thomas groans, rubbing his palm over his face when a notebook appeared in front of him. The three of them stop walking, standing beside the lockers. The brunet looks at the owner of the notebook,

"I may not be good in Maths like Alby or Teresa, but I did understood today's lesson." answered Aris.

Thomas smiled in triumph as he took the notebook and raised it above his head, "Yes! You are a life saver!"

They hear some loud voices and turn to see where they came from. They saw Janson walking through the hall with Miss Paige beside him, writing down everything he said. Janson stopped and started talking- more like yelling at some student about his locker contents. He then continued walking until he stopped again beside two students, one which was carrying a bunch of notes; Janson, with a hand, made the student drop his book, spilling over the floor. He ignored the other's complaint and continued walking, Miss Paige looking with a disapproval look on her face but still followed the principal.

"What's with the Rat-man?"

Minho shrugged, "Beats me."

"I heard that the school review board is gonna pay us a visit this week, and they are gonna check on everything." said Aris.

"Oh, so they are onto Janson, huh?"

Minho makes the sound of a whip as he moves his hand back and front, imitating a whip. Thomas laughs and then stops, something in his mind making click.

"I have an idea."

Minho grins, "This is gonna be good."

"No, no, listen! So, the review board is coming to school, right? And they want to see if Janson is doing a good job as principal and all that, aha? And he's going to make sure we all behave while they are here so they buy his story. But what if we don't?"

"Thomas, you have that crazy look in your eyes again."

"No, hear me out. Janson has always stepped on us, treated us like garbage, and when the review board comes he acts like he was the new Gandhi and not the Hitler he really is. We need to stand up for everyone, at least once."

"I'm hearing troubles." said Minho.

"You're hearing a dead wish." said Aris, turning his head to look at the brunet, "Thomas, what you are insinuating is suicide. Janson will rip you to shreds if you do anything to disrupt the review!"

"So you're telling me you are gonna allow that he continues his reign of terror? That he abuses of his power at school when we have a chance to change that?!"

Aris looks between him and Minho, and sighs, "But we can't be the only ones disrupting. He'll expel us."

Thomas holds up a finger to explain himself, "He can't expel _all_ us."

Aris blinks a few times, "You mean the whole school?"

Minho nods, siding with his best friend, "Yeah, why not? If we all have something in common is that we hate Janson. That and that Tacos day is the best."

Aris nodded, more convinced, "Okay. How are we gonna make it happen?"

"We'll figure it out. First we need to inform everyone, so spread out that we have to stay after school for something important. No teachers allowed."

The bell rang and they separated, each going to their class.

After school came to an end, the word had spread around the school -no teachers- so half school stayed in the building, hearing about the plan to boycott Janson. Everyone had agreed with Thomas and the game was on.

 

* * *

 

Sonya and Teresa were outside a Starbucks hanging around and talking. The blonde girl had asked Teresa if she wanted to grab a coffee with her. The raven girl had accepted and so they were here. The blonde girl was hearing a funny story Teresa was telling her about Thomas and Minho, and they both were laughing.

"Hahaha! Oh, my..." she wipes a tear away, "I'm gonna use that story next time he doesn't want to do something, haha." she grabs her coffee and something has her attention, "Hey." Teresa looks at her, "You see that guy over there? The one with his red phone on hand?" the raven girl nods, "He's looking at you." she says smiling and wiggling her eyebrows.

"So?"

" _So?_ You should talk to him."

Teresa takes a sip from her coffee, "I don't think so."

"Why not? He's hot. You're single."

"Because..." _'I'm in love with someone else? Oh, who, you ask? Your boyfriend, actually.'_ Nice done, Teresa. "It's complicated."

"Just go. Say 'hi' and then come back here. Trust me; you'll feel better."

"Okay."

Teresa stands up and takes some air. She goes and walks towards the guy's table, stopping once in front of him. He lowers his phone and smiles at her,

"Hey,"

"Hey," he answers.

"I saw you watching at our way."

"Really?" the guy chuckles, "I guess I'm not that subtle."

"I-It's okay. Really."

"Well, I'm glad you came here, actually." he said as he went to take something out of his pocket.

Teresa smiled. Okay, this was going pretty well. Maybe Sonya was right.

"Here. It's my number." he says giving her a piece of paper with something wrote in it, "You think you can give it to your friend over there?"

Teresa blinks a few times, "What?"

"The pretty blonde over there." he says pointing at Sonya, who was looking at her phone, "Seriously, I couldn't stop looking at her."

"Oh... right." she looks at the paper, "Sorry, I just thought..."

"What?" he asks, tilting his head. His eyes widen, "Oh, you mean... You thought I was looking at you? Hahaha!" the raven girl glares at him, "Oh, God, you really thought...? _Hahahaha!_ "

Sonya is looking at her phone when she hears an splash and a gasp coming from behind her. She turns around and sees Teresa putting the now empty jar over the cart. The guy she was talking to was soaked, his eyes and mouth opened in amazement as the girl's sudden action. Teresa wiped her hands and walked back to Sonya.

"You're right. I feel much better." she grabs her things and leaves, ignoring the blonde girl.

 

* * *

 

At Minho's apartment, the Asian male was out as he went to get the grocery and the place was empty except for Aris, who was doing homework over the couch, laptop over his lap. The door opens and Teresa enters, shutting the door with an angry face.

"I hate men."

"Good, more for me." says Aris not taking his eyes from his laptop.

She makes her way to the kitchen, where she opens the fridge and takes out the juice box. She grabs a glass and pours some, taking a big shot of juice.

"Hey, whoa, slow down. You're gonna choke on the juice." he puts his laptop aside, "What happened?"

She pours more juice, "Well, you know Sonya and I went to grab a coffee and talk and all that?" the other nods, "Well, there was some guy sitting near us and was staring the whole time at our table.  Sonya told me he had been staring at me and told me to go and talk to him."

"And did you?" he asked as she drank the juice.

"Yes. At first I didn't wanted to, but Sonya asked why not, and that it was a good thing that I was single and-

"Oh no."

"Oh yes. And I started thinking about... you know." she pours more juice, "And I couldn't come up with an excuse, so I did it."

"And?"

"It turns out that he was staring at Sonya and he wanted me to give her his number."

Aris' eyes widen, "Wow."

"Yeah,"

"That sucks."

"Tell me about it. Then, when I mentioned that I thought he was interested in me, he laughed. Loud."

"That jerk!"

"Yeah. All men are jerks."

"Not all men."

Teresa looks up at him. If anyone else had heard him, they would think he was talking about himself, but no. And Teresa knew it. He meant about Minho. Aris looks at the black screen of his laptop as his fingers trace the frame of it,

"Are you ever going to tell him?"

Teresa looks down at her empty glass, loosing herself at the tiny orange drops at the bottom of the glass. She can feel Aris' eyes on her, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know. Maybe. Sometimes I wish I could... but then I remember Sonya and that and I-" she shakes her head, letting out a sigh. She goes to grabs the box but finds it already empty. She groans,

"Ugh, I need more juice."

Then the door opens and reveals Minho carrying some plastic bags; he closes the door behind him and walks to the kitchen, putting the bags over the counter,

"Hey," he sees empty juice box, "Oh, thank God I decided to buy more. I knew it." he grabs one of the bags and takes a brand new juice box.

Teresa grabs it, "How did you-

"I know how much you like to drink juice. And I couldn't find it at the market that I usually go, so I had to go to the other."

"You went to the other market just for the juice?"

"Yeah,"

Teresa stares at him, still holding the juice. Something inside her moved and she felt like hugging the guy in front of her. She resisted the urge. She instead smiled,

"Thanks." she shakes the juice, "I'll go do my homework."

Without grabbing the glass she had been using, and with the juice still on her hand, she passed beside Minho and went to her ex-room, closing the door. The whole time she moved from the kitchen to her ex-room, Minho's eyes followed her, until she closed the door. He stared at the closed door for a few seconds. Minho turns to look at the living room and finds Aris giving him a knowing look.

"What?"

"Nothing." answered Aris nonchalantly, picking up his laptop and reassumed typing, eyes glued to the screen.

Minho frowned and turned around, glancing back at the closed door and going around the counter, facing the fridge. He puts a hand over his chest where his heart was beating fast after the raven girl had smiled at him. He tried to calm down as he turned to grab the grocery and open the fridge.

 

* * *

 

At night over the Hale house, Thomas was at his bedroom, over his bed writing something down on a notebook while reading something from a book. There was a knock on his door and as he looked up, the door opened and Stiles entered,

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Hey," Thomas raises his notebook, "Just some homework, I'm almost done."

"Okay. Don't sleep too late, yeah?"

Thomas nods, and as Stiles is turning to leave, the younger brunet speaks again, "Hey," Stiles turns to look at his son, "Uh, there's gonna be a little reunion at school on Friday, so we are gonna stay a little bit late. I'm just saying so don't worry if I'm not home after school ends."

Stiles nods, "Oh. Okay then. Thanks for telling me. Anything else?"

"No, that's all."

"Alright." he touches the door again, "Don't sleep late, okay?" Thomas nods and with that, Stiles exits his room.

Thomas sighed in relief. _'Did he bought it? Well, at least it seemed so. And he can't be mad if he and dad find out; technically I did told them.'_ he shakes his head, _'Who am I kidding? They are gonna kill me once they find out. Well... it's for a good cause.'_

He grabbed his pen again and continued writing, _'I hope so.'_

 

* * *

 

The next day at school, Thomas was over the lockers, his back resting against his closed locker as he waited for his best friend to arrive. After he finished his homework he called Minho and told him that they needed to organize the whole thing and make it work. To be honest, he was a little nervous.

_'What if it went wrong? What if Janson found out and I'm dead meat? What if I only get my friends in trouble?'_

He was brought out of his thoughts as he saw the Asian male jogging towards him,

"Hey!"

Thomas nodded at him, "Hey. How did it go?"

"I talked to some guys and they are gonna bring the stuff. It's gonna be awesome."

Thomas nodded, and after a moment he scratched the back of his head, "You sure you want to help me with this? You might get in trouble."

"Well, you know how this friendship works. If you fall, I fall with you."

"Bro."

Gally walks past them yelling _"Get a room!"_ making the other two laugh.

As they compose themselves, Thomas brushes his nose, "Thanks." the other nods, "We still have two days left to get everything in order, and we need the rest of the students. Spread the word to the ones at your class."

"Okay." he looks behind Thomas and nods at that direction, making the brunet turn and see newt walking towards them, "Say your goodbyes to him. Your parents are gonna ground you until you're 20 and you won't be able to see Newt."

Thomas pats his friend's shoulder as the other leaves, just at the same time Newt approaches him,

"Hey, you."

"Hey," he gives him a kiss and Thomas turns to his locker, opening it, "So... Is your plan still ongoing?"

"Yeah, why not?"

"It's just that... You know how Janson is, and if you do something like that and it doesn't work and he gets mad at you..." he lets out a sigh, "Tommy, are you sure it's a good idea?"

Thomas understands him, he really does. He stops grabbing his books and turns to his boyfriend, "Newt, we need to try something. We can't let him continue doing this to us; we've had enough. And even after we graduate, there'll be new students for Rat-man to terrorize."

Newt stares at the brunet and his eyes soften. He smiles at Thomas, "You have a golden heart, you knew that?"

"You are a good influence in me. So, are you in?"

Newt sighs, "I can't. My mom wants me to help her with something at the house right after school."

"Well, at least if something bad happens you won't be there."

"Aww, I love that you care about me."

"Always," he gave the blond a quick peck and closes his locker, running to his next class. Newt just shakes his head with a smile and grabs tighter the strap of his satchel, turning around to find his next class.

On the other side of the hallway, Teresa had her locker open and was taking her books out, a pen on her mouth as she did so. Minho approached her side with his hands inside his pockets,

"Hey,"

She looks at him and removes the pen from her lips, "Hey," and continues with her books.

Minho licks his lips and scratches his neck, "Listen, Sonya told me what happened yesterday at the coffee shop."

Teresa stops and turns her head to the raven boy, her hand still touching the book, "...Oh. That."

"I wanted to tell you that you don't have to hear those idiots. They don't know what they're talking about." Teresa puts a strand of hair behind her ear, "Hey," she looks at him, "I'm serious. Screw them." the raven girl chuckles, making Minho smile, "There you go."

"Thank you." she closes her locker, "So is the whole _'Let's overthrown Janson'_ still going on?"

"You bet your sweet soul it is. So are you in?"

Teresa shrugs, "Well, my best friends and everyone else at school are in, so I guess why shouldn't I."

"Great. We'll love to have you on board."

Teresa smiles and looks down at her shoes. Minho feels his face heat and he coughs, turning his head to the left, "R-right... Uh, so, uh..."

The bell rings and startles them, both sighing a thankful pray at being saved -literally- by the bell. They look at each other and start talking at the same time,

"Oh, I have class-

"My class is-

"At this way, so-

"That way, so I better, yeah-

"Yeah-

They turn around and walk to their respective class, smiling at the ground as they did so.

 

* * *

 

School went normal. They all behaved as if they were dogs in a Royal Canine Rally or something like that. Janson was too busy preparing everything else that he didn't noticed anything out of order. Perfect. When Friday finally arrived they were ready, just needed to survive the day. When the bell rang and everyone was out of their classrooms, 'ready' to leave, Thomas saw as the teachers were the firsts to leave. Wow. It felt weird to be at school after the teachers had left and there were just Janson and Miss Paige. Easy. They just needed to get rid of Janson. He looked at Aris and the other nodded, taking his phone out and dialing the number.

 

* * *

 

Over the principal's office, Miss Paige was finishing ordering some files in her desk while Janson was closing one of the drawers of the filing cabinets. As he did so his phone rang, so he picked it up,

"Hello? ... What? What do you- no, wait! What?!" he hangs up his phone in anger and turns to Paige, "My landlord says he saw someone trying to enter my place, and now I'm gonna have to check on it! The review board will not take too long."

"I'll stay here in case they come early." said Paige.

Janson looked at her and then at his phone. He groaned, "Okay. This will be quick. Once they come, you'll let me know!" he grabs his car keys and exits the room, running through the halls and to the main door. The blonde woman heard the sound of a car's engine and knew he was gone.

Thomas and the gang were also at the window and saw as the Rat-man drove away by Aris' phone call. Okay, one less. One more to go. He high fived the lighter brunet and moved to the next stage.

Ava Paige came out of the office some minutes later after checking some papers. She was going to the cafeteria for a coffee when she saw three guys laughing as they ran over the hallway; they were running with baseball bats and hitting them against each other. Hard.

"Hey kids!"

One of them turned to her and alerted the others, then they began running way.

"Don't do that! You might get hurt!"

She ran behind them, following them into an empty classroom. She entered and saw no one, and just as she was about to turn around and leave, the door closed. She frowned and went to open it but found it locked. She went to the other door but it was locked too. Huh? She knocked it,

"Is anyone there? Hello?"

Thomas turned the lock on as he looked at the door, _'Sorry, miss Paige!'_ he thought as he ran away from the door, leaving the kind woman inside.

Thomas went back to the main hall and found everyone there, waiting for his signal to begin. He glanced back at Minho, who was looking out of the window,

"No signs yet."

Thomas turned to the people, "Okay! Let's get this started!"

They all shouted with enthusiasm and seconds later the music started,

 

_And the bass keeps runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin',_

_And runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and runnin' runnin', and..._

 

As the music started playing through the loudspeakers, everyone started jumping to make more noise with their stomps, hands in the air and some singing; the more noise, better. Others started throwing a beach ball over the air like in concerts. Others were wearing skates and were rolling all over the hallway. Thomas and Minho were playing with the ones with the beach ball, while Teresa was with the guys who brought watermelons and were smashing them with baseball bats. Ben and Alby were over the DJ's spot, the blond guy holding a microphone and laughing.

 

_Everybody (yeah), everybody (yeah), let's get into it (yeah), get stupid (c'mon)_

 

Ben gave Alby the microphone, so the dark skinned guy took it and started singing,

_Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here._

_Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here._

_Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here._

_Let's get it started (ha), let's get it started in here._

_Yeah!_

 

Thomas looked around as the music continued. Everyone was laughing and trying their best to do as much noise they could. Thomas just wished that the review board arrived before Janson. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Aris and a few people of the Art class talking about something while holding a plastic bag with something inside it. Aris nodded and they left, approaching other students. Thomas walked towards Aris, who was putting on a white shirt under the one he already had.

"What are you doing?"

Aris smiles, "Preparing for when the masters arrive." he gives Thomas a white shirt too.

"Do I wanna know?" Thomas asked as he took it.

"Nope."

"Okay."

He walked away and decided to let the lighter brunet alone with whatever he had planned. It must be something heavy if the other guys were distributing white shirts to everyone. Well, who was Thomas to judge him?

Aris continues giving out the white shirts when his eyes fall on someone at the end of the hall, exiting a classroom. Mr. Gallaraga.

"Crap." he runs towards him as the teacher closes the door, turning to the commotion, "Mr. G, what are you doing here?" he asks with a little bit of fear. There were screwed.

"I forgot my glasses in my desk. Care to tell me what is going on in here?"

Aris bites his lips and considers lying. Then he thinks about telling the truth and he doesn't see why not. What could he lose? "It's a plan to show the review board the person Janson really is, and have a good chance to have him fired."

Jorge looks up for a moment, giving a little nod before looking back at Aris, "Okay."

Aris blinks a few times before his brain starts functioning again, " _'Okay'_? Wha- really?"

"Yeah. Janson is an asshole."

Aris smiles, "Mr. G, you rock."

"I know."

Minho was over the windows, hitting the beach ball to the other guys when he saw a big nice car parking at the lot. Four people exit it and he knew who they were.

He catches the ball and putting it over his lap he whistles, having everyone's attention, "The review board is here!"

This was it.

Thomas turns to everyone, "Okay, everyone! As we talked about, alright!"

The main door opened and the review board entered the building. An older man with grey hair and glasses, wearing a suit and holding a wooden board. A young petite woman with brown hair held in a ponytail. Two tall dark haired men in their 30's, wearing navy suits. Just four of them. They all frowned and seemed confused at why everyone else were there and why everything was a disaster. But before either of them could open their mouth and start asking questions-

_"FIRE!"_

Someone yelled -Thomas is pretty sure it was Aris- and every student started throwing holi powder at everyone, including the review board. So that's what the white shirts were for. The white shirts were turning different colors. The petite woman and the two tall men started screaming at their suits getting dirty, while the older man just covered his face. The music turned louder after that; Gangnam Style started playing.

Teresa threw pink powder to Minho's back, and the Asian male turned and smirked at her, running after her and smashing the blue powder over her stomach. Aris ran to them and green splashed over her chest, making her laugh. As he turned around, purple meet his hair. He opened his eyes to look at Gally and his purplish hands, grinning at him. Aris grabbed a small portion of the one on his hair and draw an 'X' over the dirty blond's cheek. The moment was interrupted when Tomas threw yellow at the four of them.

"Get him!"

They started running after the brunet, throwing all the colors at him through the crowd, hitting other people. Even Jorge grabbed a bag and threw it at some students. The two tall men from the review board grabbed some bags and also joined the battle, throwing it back at the one who threw powder at them. Out of nowhere, someone took out confetti and started throwing it too.

Teresa stops chasing after Thomas once Minho catches him and his shirt ends with red, green and the yellow he had thrown at them. As everyone were shouting and jumping and scaring the review board, Teresa slides away towards the classrooms. She went to one specific door and knocked at it, then she opened it. She entered just barely and saw Miss Paige sitting in the desk; she turned her head to the door and stood up. Moments later Teresa was engulfed in a hug, warm arms around her.

The woman took a step aside and checked on the girl, "Are you alright? Is everyone alright?"

Teresa smiled, "Yes, yes, we are. Sorry, it's just that we wanted..." she sighed. She didn't knew how to explain it.

"It's okay, child. Come," still in the woman's embrace they exited the classroom and went to the halls.

Gally and Alby started smashing watermelons with the bats as Aris and some girls applauded at them; some pieces falling next to the adults. Minho laughed at it and then shook his head. The review board sure looked like they were gonna explode. Minho looked out of the window for a moment and saw something approaching the school. A car. Janson's car. Shit. He was here already!

"Shit."

He ran and tried to find Thomas. He found him beside the speakers, talking to some guys that were holding microphones and were laughing.

"Thomas!" he ran towards the brunet.

The brunet turned to look at him, a microphone on his hand, "Hey, bro!"

"Janson is finally here! And I think he's pissed off. You need to go!"

"Oh! But I can't go! We're-we're singing for the school!"

"Listen, you're gonna be singing for St. Peter if you don't get your ass outta here now!"

"I can't! I won't! This was my idea and I'm gonna stay, even if something bad happens."

"Thomas, I've always known you were stupid but not _that_ stupid."

"No, I really am _that_ stupid, and if you don't believe me... Watch." he gives Minho the microphone and runs, disappearing into the crowd.

Moments later the door opened and Janson entered the school, eyes almost jumping out of its place at the scene before him. He had been angry when he got to his house and the landlord told him he hadn't called for him, but now... Oh, Lord. Nobody seems to notice his presence, not even the review board; so he makes his way to where the speakers are. He unplugs the music and everyone stops, all sound and movement dying around. Ben and Alby lowered the bats to the ground. Aris stepped at Gally's side, arms almost touching. Miss Paige puts Teresa behind her, shielding her in case something happened.

Janson let go of the plug that dropped hard to the floor. He took a step forward and everyone took one back, trying to keep a distance.

"Who is responsible for this?!" he yelled.

Everyone stood silent, some not even meeting his eyes, instead looking at the floor or at their friends. The review board looked between the principal and the students. Janson wasn't going to ask again so 'nicely', they knew better.

"I am."

Janson turns around and sees as Thomas steps out of the crowd, a step forward, eyes firm on him.

"Hale! Why am I not surprised?" he points at the brunet menacingly, "Once I finish with the review board, you are going directly to my office. I'll see later what I do about the rest of you."

"No." came firmly out from Thomas' mouth.

"Wha-

"No! We've had enough!" Janson's mouth closes, jaw tight. "You've treated us as we were trash, always yelled at us for no reason, and we had enough!" he takes another step forward, "One thing is being a strict principal, but you are a tyrant, and we don't deserve that."

Everyone started to support him, shouting that he was right, that Janson was a terrible person, and stuff like that. Janson saw as the review board looked at each other and started murmuring between them. His face was red and you could see the veins in his neck and one popping over his temple. He was angry and right now he didn't care what he did.

Stepping forward he grabbed a fistful of the front of Thomas' shirt, holding the brunet still with no way out,

"You little shit!"

Thomas saw Janson raise his hand, and closed his eyes in fear, ready to be hit but his hand never made contact. Thomas opened his eyes and saw Miss Paige holding Janson's arm, the man looking furiously at her.

"Paige, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I've had enough of this!" she made him let go of Thomas, and the brunet ran towards his friends.

Janson glared at her, "Think really deep about what you're doing and what you're gonna say." he said pointing at her, "I might fire you."

"Then do it. I always kept my mouth shut because I knew that if you fired me, no one could keep an eye on you for preventing you to harm any of these children. But I'm tired of this. I don't care what you do with me, but this," she points at Thomas, "I can't allow you to do that. To treat these children like this, like they don't matter."

They stare at each other, neither of them blinking. All of the students stand there in silence, looking between the two adults and feeling the tension in the air. Fortunately for them, someone cleared their throats. Everyone turned to the review board,

The older man spoke, "Miss Paige, can we see you and Principal Janson at his office, for a minute?"

_Shit_ , thought Thomas as the two adults nodded and went to the office; Jorge went to open the door and let Janson and Paige enter, the review board behind them. The younger woman was the last one and she closed the door behind her, leaving the students out with worry. Shit, they didn't wanted to get Miss Paige in trouble, but now they did. Thomas looked at his friends and sighed. All they could do was wait.

 

* * *

 

Long 45 minutes passed and no one came out of the office. The students were now cleaning all the mess, but they were attentive at the office. Thomas was a little worried. What if they not only got Janson in trouble but Miss Paige too?

The sound of the door opening made everyone stop doing whatever they were doing. All the eyes fell on the door and the person who came out first. It was Janson. Man, he looked pissed. He settled his suit and leaved, his head high. Some students murmured in worry. Then, the review board, Miss Paige and Jorge came out of the office. They said something to the blonde woman before turning around and leave.

Mrs. Paige looked at the students and said, "All right, students. You've cleaned enough, it's time for you to go to your houses. There's nothing else to see here."

The students shoulders fell, they looked at the floor. She had been fired, they knew it. Thomas swallowed. Maybe this had been all but a mistake.

Jorge cleared his throat, "You heard your Principal, there's nothing to see here." he said, trying to sound firm but his smile gave him away.

Everyone's eyes lit up and then they yelled enthusiastically, applauding and hugging because of what Jorge had said. She haven't been fired, she had been promoted to principal. Janson had been fired.

Outside of the school, everyone was getting into their cars, even giving a ride to the ones who didn't had a car or a way to go back to their houses. Some others were talking and laughing about what had happened. Over her car, Miss Paige was talking about something that seemed important to Jorge, Teresa standing at her side. Ben had offered to give Alby a ride and they were getting into the blonde's car. Thomas, Minho, Gally and Aris were walking towards their cars, still a few more meters to get to them.

"Well... At the end we had to clean all the mess we did, but it was worth it, right?" Thomas asked. The others nodded, "Miss Paige is going to be our new principal, Janson is out of our lives, and we didn't got in trouble. There was no harm."

Minho, Aris and Gally stop in their tracks, wide eyes looking at something before them. Thomas frowns and turns to see what it is and his blood turns like ice. Derek and Stiles were exiting the car and were walking towards them, eye locked at Thomas' figure. He was dead.

"Oh no." He was _so_ dead. He barely sees when Aris grabs Gally's arm and tugs him away.

"Dude, you're on your own." said Minho as he patted his back and jogged away, joining the other two who ran away.

Thomas walked towards his dads and they did the same, standing in front of each other but neither saying a word. Thomas thought it was better if he started.

"Hey, you are never gonna believe what happened here..." he tried to joke his way out, "Listen, I know this looks bad, but actually it's a good thing."

Stiles had a hand pinching the bridge of his nose, eyes closed, and Derek was looking -more like staring daggers- at Thomas before he grabs Thomas by his ear, making the younger brunet's knees buckle.

"Ow! OW!"

"Thomas, I really want to say something right here, but I'm a benevolent person, so I'm not gonna humilate you in front of your friends. But don't think that means you are safe, oh no." he chuckled darkly, "Ideas are already popping into my mind, and I will be deciding on a punishment." Derek said and started to drag him back to the car.

"Ow! You're going to drag me all the way home?!"

Stiles shrugs, "Well, we're taking your ear there. If the rest of you wants to come, that's fine too."

 

* * *

 

Back at the Hale house, the three men entered the house and as the door closed, Thomas knew his dads were gonna ground him. His ass was so grounded. Goodbye Newt for a month. Stiles is the first to talk,

"Well, it's late, so I guess we should go upstairs and rest." he puts a hand over Derek's arm, It's been a long day."

Thomas looked at the stairs and back at his dads, not knowing what to do. Should he stay there and wait for his punishment? Or should he go upstairs now that he has a chance?

"Yeah, it's pretty late." said Derek.

Just as Thomas turned around ready to go to the stairs-

_"Thomas."_

The younger brunet stops and turns to look at his dad, waiting for him to speak,

Derek takes a step forward, "Before I cry myself to sleep tonight, may I leave you with a few words of advice?" Thomas didn't saw as Stiles bite his lip and rolled his eyes. Derek exhales, looking at his son, "If at some point tomorrow, or during my lifetime for that matter, you come up with another brilliant idea for something to do at school... Stop." he glares at Thomas, "Do nothing." he stares at the nothing, pausing for a moment, "Just stand there doing nothing... saying nothing... arms at your side... like a zombie. Breathing just enough to keep the blood circulating. And no more."

Thomas stays still, his eyes going from his dad to his pops.

"Did I made myself clear?"

Thomas nods.

"Good. Now go to your room, it's late. We'll take about this tomorrow."

Thomas nods again and runs towards the stairs, not stopping or glancing back in case his dad changed his mind and decided to ground him now. Today he may had a victory, but only God knows if he's going to be victorious for the weekend.

 


	39. It's All About a Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long! But finally it's here! Hope you like it :)

_"I feel that there is nothing more truly artistic than to love people." - Vincent Van Gogh._

 

 

At work, Minho was behind the counter, serving a client while Thomas was at the back of the store. Minho smiled as he gave the spare change to the woman in front of him, together with her coffee,

"Here you go. Thanks for your purchase. Come back soon!"

The woman smiled kindly at him and gave him a $20 for tips. She then went to the door and exited the place. Minho saw his tips and smiled,

"Yay! New phone, here we go!" he puts his tips in a jar.

"What's wrong with your other phone?" asked Thomas as he putted down a box.

Minho stays still, looking at his brunet friend without saying anything; his mind racing back to the events that lead to him getting a new phone.

 

_*Flashback to a week ago*_

Minho was walking towards his bathroom to brush his teeth, his phone on his right hand. He stood in front of the sink and grabbed his toothbrush and toothpaste; he finished unfastening the top, squeezing the tube. Once his brush had the white, blue and red stripes, with one hand he started typing a message,

 

**_'Hey, been thinking about you. Why don't cha come over for a couple of hours? Love you.'_ **

 

He went to his contact names, pressed 'send' and looked up at the mirror, grabbing his brush and started brushing his teeth. He looked back to his phone and saw the contact name... But he hadn't sent it to Sonya.

He had sent it to Teresa.

His eyes widen in realization and he panics. Still with his brush in his mouth, he grips his phone tight and stares at the screen like it had betrayed him.

"No, no, no, no, no!"

Why did he sent it to Teresa?! It was supposed to be for Sonya not Teresa! They don't even start with the same letter, what the hell?!

"Oh, no, no, no!  Crap, crap, crap!"

He tried to do something but didn't knew what. He started pressing all the buttons in desperation.

"Crap, crap, cra- _argh_!"

He almost chokes with his toothbrush, so he spits it to the floor and in one fluid move his phone falls from his hands and into the open toilet with a 'splash'. Minho stared at his phone as underwater the screen went black. Well, at least no one will read the text.

_*Flashback ends*_

 

"I, uh, threw it over the toilet."

"How are you not murder every hour?"

"Anyway... I need a new phone, so I'm saving for a new one." he turns his back to Thomas, "I need to have one before school ends."

That rings a bell to Thomas. He smiles connivingly as he turns to his best friend.

"Hey, talking about school." Minho turns around, "Finals are getting closer, and you know I need to study real hard to pass History. And well, you are studying with Sonya and Harriet."

"Okay..."

"And Teresa is with Aris and they will be helping each other."

"...Alright?"

"So I told Newt that we could study together. You know, since all of you are unavailable."

"...Okay? And what do you want?"

Thomas acts offended, "Wha- why do you think I want something?"

The two of them stared at each other, neither of them blinking or moving. Thomas was the first to break,

"In approximately 5 minutes can you take my shift until night so I can go and meet Newt?"

"I knew it!"

Thomas groans, "Please! I really need to study with Newt!"

"No. What you want is to be able to spend some time with Newt."

"Can you blame me for it?! I want to spend some time with my boyfriend."

"Then just say that, and don't use your lame excuse of _'we are going to study'_."

Thomas pouts, "It's not lame. And it's not an excuse. We _are_ going to study."

"Aha."

"Please, Min! You're my best friend! Only on you I can count." Minho bites his lips, looking up at the ceiling while thinking. Thomas groans, " _Argh!_ Great! What a time to be alive to find out that your best friend doesn't care about you and won't make you a simple favor!"

Minho rolls his eyes at his exaggerated best friend, so takes a step forward, "Thomas, my love for you is like this scar," he holds up his arm and shows his elbow, "ugly, but permanent."

"So is that a 'yes'?"

Minho sighed, nodding his head, "Go, lover boy. I'll cover for you."

Thomas beamed with excitement as he grabbed his backpack from the floor and hang it over his shoulder, "Thanks, Min. You're the best!" he went over the counter as he took out his car keys.

"Yeah, yeah, I know." he putted a hand over his chest, making a melodramatic pose as Thomas got closer to the door, "Just drive carefully and study hard. And use protection!"

He laughed hard as Thomas threw his apron directly at his face.

 

* * *

 

Newt was at his shift at the flower shop. He had to make some bouquets and floral arrangements for the front part of the shop. Just as he was finishing making a lilies one, his phone rang. He picked it up, putting the arrangement behind the crystal,

"Hello?"

_"Is this my beautiful, incredible talented and kind boyfriend talking?"_

Newt smiles at Thomas' voice, biting his lips, "No, I think you have the wrong number."

_"Oh, really? Well, do you mind if I speak with you, then? I hope my boyfriend doesn't find out."_ he says with a naughty tone.

The blond rolls his eyes, "Silly, Tommy." and walks back to the desk

_"Oh, Newt! Finally! You wouldn't believe the guy who was throwing himself at me. Can you believe it?"_

Newt snorts, "Really? I don't understand why he would do that. Throw himself at you."

_"Ohh, that was below the belt. Keep the gloves up, love."_

Newt walked towards the next arrangement and with his phone between his cheek and shoulder he started making it, "So, what's up?"

_"Well, I was wondering... Since the finals are getting closer, we should start studying really hard."_

"Aha,"

_"And since Minho is currently studying with Sonya and Harriet, and Teresa is with Aris, I think you and I should study together. Today."_

"Oh, really?" he moves the phone to his other ear, "And this doesn't have to do with your parents being out at night and you having the house empty?"

_"You know what? I completely forgot about that."_ the blonde rolled his eyes, 'sure you did.' _"So? What'd you say?"_

"I just need to finish some flower arrangements and I'm free to go."

_"Great. My house at 6:30?"_

"Sure."

_"Great! See you at 6:30. Love you."_

Newt smiled, "Love you too." and hanged up. He stared at the bouquet he made and smiled, touching lightly at the soft petals of the red tulips.

 

* * *

 

After school at Art class, Aris was sitting in a stool with a canvas in front of him; his brush drawing lines and curves, captioning the person in front of him. Teresa was sitting in a stool a few feet away from the canvas, just enough so the lighter brunet could see her well. They had waited for everyone to leave to start; the classroom's door was closed with lock. Why all the secrecy, you might think? Well, you wouldn't want anyone to catch you as you painted a nude portrait. Yep, that's right. The teacher had asked them to paint a nude portrait (specifically, the top part of a woman) and then deliver it at the end of the week. Aris had asked- more like begged Teresa to be his model. She grudgingly agreed and so they were here at school.

As Aris continued painting, Teresa looked around, trying not to move her torso. She felt nervous. Not because of Aris; he was one of the people who has saw her topless before, so she wasn't prudish about it with him. But she was worried that someone could open the door, enter and see her. Now that she was thinking, why couldn't they do it at his house? Why did it had to be at school?!

"I'm going to hit you if you ever show this to anyone who isn't your art teacher."

Aris smiles, not taking his eyes off the painting, "Don't worry. Besides I'm painting it without a head, so anyone won't be able to recognize you."

"You better."

"I'm going to get an A in this assignment."

"Yeah, yeah. We all know that you are really good at painting."

Still not taking his eyes from his painting, "Not that. Well, I mean, yeah that's a factor. But I meant that I'm going to get an A because of my beautiful model."

Teresa looks at him and smiles, "You're a dork."

"Yeah. Maybe that's why I'm still single."

Teresa puts her hands on her hips, "Oh, come on. You will find someone very soon."

Aris pauses and rests his arms on top of the canvas, "Yeah. Like my new boyfriend is going to get through those doors in any moment."

Just as they chuckled at that comment, they heard the distinctive sound of sneakers through the hall: Someone was approaching the classroom. Their eyes widen in fear and quickly got up from their stools. As Teresa put on her shirt, Aris covered his painting with a blanket and hide his satchel. Teresa looked at him, asking him with her eyes at where to hide and he glanced at the closet behind them. They ran towards it and opened it; entering and closing the door behind them.

The knob of the door was shaken a few times before it gave in. _'Damn it to school's property!'_ Through the slits of the closet door, Aris and Teresa watched as the door opened and the person entered the room. The tall dirty blond guy made his way to the middle of the room and Aris knew who it was.

Gally stands in the middle of the art class, looking around the room as if thinking he's going to see something if he does that.

"I thought I heard someone." he said to himself.

Just as he finishes saying that, the door opens farther and Brenda enters the classroom, holding a board to her hip. Crap. She was some kind of school monitor. Gally turns around startled by the sound, and looks at her and her board.

"Whoa!" he raises both hands, "It's all right, Cerberus. Only me."

From inside the closet, Aris frowns and whispers to the raven girl, "Who's Cerberus?"

"The dog that guards the gates of hell." whispers back Teresa.

Brenda eyes the room, still standing in the door, "What are you doing in here? School is over and so are practices. I'm here to make sure everyone is out of school before they close it."

"Yeah, I know. I-I was just making sure everyone was gone too and that everything was closed." he points at the closet in front of him, where Teresa and Aris were hiding, "I'll check that closet, you can check that one," he said pointing at the one near the door.

Brenda seems to fall into that, so she nods and turns to the closet; Gally walks up to the one he picked. He goes to open the closet and sees Teresa and Aris inside, who make signs and whisper at him to keep in silence. He grins and closes the closet as if nothing. Brenda had also finished checking the closet near the door, so she was turned to him.

"See? Everything's peachy."

She seemed convinced that everything was fine, nodding at him, and turns around to leave. In that moment Teresa accidentally sneezes, making Gally and Aris open their eyes wide. Brenda stops and turns towards Gally, who sees her face and it dawns on him; he imitates the sneeze, acting as if he was the one sneezing.

"Sorry, terrible allergies."

Brenda turns around again and starts leaving when Aris wickedly grins and with his hand he makes a flatulent sound, startling the brunet girl. Brenda stops in her tracks and as she turns to the dirty blond guy, Gally hides his chuckle.

Gally puts a serious face while putting a hand over his stomach, "Oh, sorry. Better an empty house than an angry tenant, right?" Brenda frowns and finally turns to leave. Gally turns to the closet and shakes his head as he too leaves.

Aris and Teresa wait a couple of seconds more before opening the closet, exiting while looking around, making sure it was clear. They sigh in relief,

"For a moment I thought we would get caught." she grabs her satchel, "Thank God Gally was here."

"Yeah," says Aris smiling as he grabs his satchel from the floor.

Teresa stares at him, frowning at the way the other smiled when she gasps, making her friend look at her, "Oh my god."

"What?"

"You like him."

Aris chuckles, "What?"

"Gally. You like him."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't." Teresa gives him a look, "No, I don't. Come on, we have to go."

They went through the back door of the classroom and towards the other exit, were they had left the car. As they were walking towards the exit, the raven girl glanced at her friend,

"He totally saved our asses."

"So?"

"You should repay him."

"Me? Why- and how should I do that?"

"I don't know. Do something your good at."

Aris blinks for a moment, looking at the raven girl, "You want me to give him a lap dance?!"

"That's what you are good at?!" the other shrugs, "No! I meant something normal. Like... dinner?"

They opened the door and walked towards the car, "You want me to invite him to dinner?"

"You can cook him dinner."

"He just covered for us, he didn't save freaking Obama!"

Teresa climbed in the driver's seat while Aris in the co-pilot one. "Then look for something else. But you should do something to thank him. And don't even try to get away from this with some excuse. Tell me that he didn't had to do that. Go on and tell me."

Aris stared at her and sighed in defeat.

"Fine! I'll figure out what to do for Giuseppe Verdi."

Teresa smiled at that and started driving away from school.

 

* * *

 

"So, as we already read it: In September 1939 the Allies, namely Great Britain, France, and Poland, were together superior in industrial resources, population, and military manpower- Are you hearing me?"

Thomas blinked a few times, smiling at the blonde, "Every time."

Thomas and Newt were currently at the brunet's empty house. They were sitting in the couch, books and notebooks surrounding them as they studied. Newt had a book in his hand, which he closed and use to hit Thomas in the head, scolding him,

"Tommy, I'm serious. We've been 2 hours like this, and I'm starting to think that you aren't paying attention."

Thomas brought a hand to rub his head, "Okay, okay! Sorry, I'll pay attention."

Newt nodded and turned back to the book, opening it in the page he had left it. Thomas picked up another book from the coffee table and started reading it. They were both silent for almost a minute before the blonde broke the silence,

"So, you asked me to come here at 6:30 because your parents weren't gonna be here, right?"

"Yeah~"

"Was it because we were gonna be alone to fool around without adult supervision, or because we were gonna be together as in together?"

Thomas stayed in silence. Crap.

"I thought so."

"Newt, I-

"I want to tell our parents about us."

Thomas stilled. He knew it would happen; at some point they were gonna have this conversation.

"You don't wanna?" asked the Brit.

"Yes! Yes, I do."

"Then what is the problem?"

"What if something happens?"

Newt tilts his head in confusion. Thomas being the good boyfriend he is began to explain,

"Okay, picture this. What if we tell our parents and in a distant future my dads and your parents get in an argument and they tell us that we can't see each other? Or begin telling bad stuff about us? Or... Or what if at some point we break up and then we have a dinner, our two families together. We'll have to sit with everyone, everyone that knows that we were dating and it gets all awkward. We'll have to pretend that we are okay with the other being there and..." his eyes widen in panic at his words, "Not that I'm saying that we'll break up any time soon. No, no, no! Never." he panics again, "Not that I'm going to force you to be with me forever, god no. Urgh! What I mean-

Newt puts his hands on his shoulders, trying to calm him down, "I get it, Tommy. I do." he shows him a smile, "I-I just... Don't feel comfortable hiding our relationship from them. They are our parents. It feels like if we were doing something bad."

Thomas stares at his boyfriend. It meant so much to Newt that they were open with their parents. Well, Thomas was half-way through that. His dad knew. And it's not like if they were related or something. It wasn't a bad thing.

"Okay. If it means that much to you, we'll tell our parents tomorrow." he sighs, "I'll take one for the team."

Newt turned to look at him, a peaceful look in his eyes. Thomas turned too, feeling watch, and saw the blond smiling at him.

"What?"

"You're the best."

Thomas returned the smile and soon they were leaning forward until their lips met. This was the part of studying Thomas loved. He pressed a little harder and his hands fell to the Brit's hips, gripping them. He then started leaning forward; Newt unconsciously leaned back so he was on his back and Thomas over him. Newt's hands tangled in his hair, pulling softly at it as Thomas tried to get a better access into his mouth.

They were too immersed in their heated moment that they didn't heard the keys and the door opening. Thomas' brain registered someone talking lowly before they fell silent -a familiar voice. He unlocked his lips from Newt's and raised his head to look at the threshold. He could feel all the color from his face drain and the blood that had gone to the south disappeared.

Standing with groceries bags in their hands over the entrance were Stiles and Derek, looking back at his son and the Brit over the couch. Neither of them said anything, nor made a move. Derek was sending him a pity look, like if he were trying to say Thomas that he was sorry they were in this situation. Stiles' face was simply blank; the only expression that he showed was his eyes wide open and mouth in a tight line.

Shit.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't kill me. And don't kill me for the next one too.


	40. It's Just Me Against the World (And the World Is Winning)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! New chapter. Sorry if I took so long :(

Everything was silent. Not even their breathing was heard. You could actually feel the awkward in the air; cut the tension with a butter knife. Derek and Stiles had entered the house a little further, but their expression were pretty much the same. His dads still had the groceries bags in their grasp, not letting go. And Thomas was still hovering over Newt, their bodies pressed together and the blonde's hands over his hair. Slowly, and as less awkwardly he could do it, Thomas got up from the blonde and stood up while Newt sat straight in the couch. The younger brunet licked his lips as he thought about what to say next; he had to be very careful. God, his heart was beating so hard it wasn't funny.

"D-dad, pops. I thought you were gonna be out until late."

"Yeah, it's evident what you thought." said Stiles in a mad voice.

Thomas bowed his head like a kicked dog. Newt, feeling out of place in middle of them, starts packing his books and grabs his satchel, standing from the couch without looking at the Hales in the eye. He puts a strand of hair behind his ear, and looks up at Thomas,

"I-I think I better go."

Thomas really wants to say no; to tell him to stay, that there's nothing wrong with him being there. But right now he's not so sure about that, so he just nods.

The Brit walks towards the door, just a few meters away from the Hales and opens the door. He's about to go when he looks at the brunet and says "I'll text you later." in an almost murmur and then leaves.

Now Thomas is standing alone with his parents. He feels seven again, like if he had done something he shouldn't and he waited for his punishment.

_"Thomas."_

Hearing his pops' voice calling for him, he raised his sight to look directly at his parents. They putted down the groceries bags on the floor and looked back at him.

"Before you try to get away from this, I just want you to answer to what I'm going to ask. Okay?"

Thomas nodded.

"Am I wrong... or were you and Newt just making out over the couch."

"Yes."

"And something tells me that it isn't the first time. Am I correct?"

"... _Yes_."

"So is this like fooling around? Wanting to experiment or-

Looking at Derek's eyes for him to say something, Thomas immediately added "No! No, no, no! I-I talked to you about this guy I liked! Remember?!"

"You were talking about Newt?"

"Yes! He's my- he's my boyfriend."

Stiles opened his mouth, staring back at his son. "Then why didn't you told us?"

Thomas panicked and he pointed at Derek, "Dad knew!"

Stiles' eyes widen, "You told him?!" he turns to his husband, "You knew?!"

Derek stood there, not knowing how to act. He uncrossed his arms, "...Technically, what are you asking me?"

"Derek!"

"Well, I actually didn't told him... _per se_." added Thomas, trying to save his dad. At least one of us has to get out alive. "He kinda found out by accident."

"Yeah, that's why I didn't told you, Stiles. I wanted to be sure."

But the older brunet was having none of it, "Oh no, you're not gonna save each others asses! I'll talk later to you," he said pointing at Derek, then he turned to his son, "Now tell me, Thomas. Was there a reason you didn't told us?"

"I-I don't-

"No! Don't tell me _'I don't know'_. I want an answer."

Thomas started feeling dizzy. With the lack of air he was sure he could have a panic attack in any moment. He just wanted to lay down and forget about everything.

"I don't know!"

"Thomas! Why didn't you wanted us to know?!"

He exploded. His mouth ran out. "Because it's not your business! Also, I didn't wanted you to know because you might wouldn't want us to be together!"

That didn't came out right. He hadn't meant to tell him that, it slipped.

Stiles opens his mouth in disbelief, like he didn't thought his son would think something like that about him, about them. Instead of getting sad and start mopping around about it, he went for the second option: anger.

"Well, maybe you are right."

Thomas blinks, "Wha-

"We are forbidding you from seeing Newt."

Thomas felt like something had exploded right next to his ear. Like a grenade. His whole body shuddered at those words. Breathing wasn't an option. Both Derek and Thomas looked at Stiles with wide eyes, but Thomas was the only one who spoke,

"WHAT?! You can't do that! You are not the boss of me!"

"Oh, the hell I am! I'm your father, and you're living under my roof!"

"That's unfair! That's- that's- That's bullshit!"

"Language!"

"No! That's bullshit! You can't do that! You can't be that unfair!"

Stiles pointed at the stairs, "Go to your room! You're grounded!"

"Bu-

_"NOW!"_

Thomas gritted his teeth and his hands balled into fists. He turned around and stormed off, stomping to the stairs. Each step he took all the way up got louder, as if he was trying to make an announcement, before he finally arrived at his room, slamming the door closed.

Derek looked from the stairs to his husband, who picked up the bags from the floor and went to kitchen. He followed. Once in the kitchen, Stiles started taking everything out and putting it in its place in an angry way.

"Don't you think you are overreacting over this?"

Stiles turns to face him, eyes wide after hearing his husband's words, "You mean to tell me that you weren't offended about what Thomas said?!"

"Of course I felt offended. But there are ways to react about it-

_"Whose side are you on?!"_

"Yours!"

Stiles snorts, grabbing the cans and putting them over the shelves in an angry way, "Really? Because it didn't seemed like it!" he points outside the kitchen, "You knew! You knew, Derek, and you didn't told me! That's not being on my side."

"I'm always on your side, Stiles. But I think this time you've taken it too far. And I didn't told you because Thomas was the one who had to tell you. I only found out because of the fire accident and then-"

Stiles turns to him, "Fire? Fire, wha- The fire where Thomas got into to get Teresa? That fire?" Derek didn't say anything. Stiles' eyes widen and he grabs the bread, turning to his husband and hitting him with the bag, _"YOU'VE. KNEW. SINCE. SEPTEMBER?!"_ he punctuated every word with each blow.

"Ouch! He- hey, stop it!" the older man put a hand up, trying to avoid the blows, "Stop!" the other stops, the bread bag completely destroyed. "I found out he liked Newt, but they weren't together at that time."

"But you knew afterwards."

"...Not exactly. I-I actually wasn't sure, I just had a feeling. But I thought that if it happen then Thomas would come to us."

The older brunet looked around the kitchen, half the groceries still over the counter and table. His eyes fell to the phone and a question came to his mind. Ignoring his husband, he went for the phone and started dialing.

"What are you doing?"

"I need to check something."

 

* * *

 

Newt stepped out of the taxi after he paid, holding his satchel close to him. As he exited the Hale house he remembered that his mom was the one who drove him there in the first place. He couldn't call and ask her to come and pick him up without raising suspicious as for why was he outside. Now he was standing in the sidewalk as he watches the taxi drive away. He turned around and walked towards his house. He could feel his hands sweat and his heart beating fast each step he took. His mouth was dry as he opened the door, letting himself in.

As he made his way to the stairs he heard his mom's voice,

_"Newt?"_

He saw his mom coming out of the kitchen; she had the phone on her right hand and he knew she knew. Thomas' parents must have call her and told her everything. He avoided eye contact as he quickly made his way to the stairs, ignoring his mother's calls,

"Newt! Newton Reed-

The slam of a door is heard and Allison sighs. She puts a hand over her forehead and walks towards the couch, sitting over it as she puts the phone away. Andrew comes from out of the bathroom and eyes the stairs, then he looks at his wife over the couch,

"Is something wrong?"

Allison just shakes her head, her eyes closed. When she received Stiles' call she wouldn't have imagined it would end up like this.

 

* * *

 

At Minho's apartment, the Asian male and Teresa were over the couch, watching a horror movie with the lights off and a bowl of popcorn between them. Their eyes were glued to the screen as the movie got more and more interesting. Teresa grabbed her glass from the floor and took a sip, pointing at the TV,

"I wouldn't follow a stranger into an alley, no matter how wasted I was."

"Yeah, but you're not a man. Testosterone will follow a woman to Thailand. _Barefoot._ It's just a fact." he finished with a shrug. Teresa laughed at that, taking more popcorn.

"Well, that's why women are more likely to survive at a horror movie than men."

"So, if we were in a horror movie, you would be the only survivor?"

"And Sonya."

"Right. And Sonya." Minho looked at the front, _'how the fuck did he forgot about his own girlfriend?!'_

"And maybe even Newt, you know? He could outfox the killer."

That shook his thoughts off. "Y-yeah, but me and Thomas would be dead."

"Thomas is the guy they kill at the first 10 minutes."

Minho grins, "Don't be mean."

Teresa chuckles, "I'm not mean! I'm realistic! Thomas himself said it once; he said: 'I'm the guy whom they kill at the first 10 minutes.'" the Asian male laughs, "He said he wouldn't know what to do it situations like those, so he would die."

"Really? And who am I?"

"Uh, you're the killer. _Duuh!_ " she said it as if it was the most obvious thing.

"Wha- why am I the killer?!" he asked with a smile.

"Well, don't feel bad about it. In the sequel it's Aris."

"Why Aris?"

"Why not?"

They both laugh at that, the movie forgotten. Once the moment ends, they stay there, sitting next to each other. Their eyes meet and it's even more silent. Minho goes to open his mouth to say something when a ring startles them, making them scream.

" _AHHHHH!_ Oh- it's my wireless phone." Minho grabbed the phone from the coffee table as Teresa hit him with a cushion. He answered, "Minho here. Hey, bro, what's- _whoa_ _whoa_ , Thomas," Teresa looked at him, "Thomas, calm down, alright? I can't understand you if you- _what_?"

"What happen?"

Minho held a finger to her, telling her to wait for a moment. Grabbing the control she paused the movie, turning back to her friend.

_"WHAT?!"_

"What?" Teresa felt scared. What happened to Tom? "Minho, wha-

Minho looks at her, phone still over his ear, "Thomas' dads found out about him and Newt. Caught them making out."

Teresa gasped.

"And they had a sort of fight, and his pops told him that he forbid him from seeing Newt."

Teresa's eyes widen, "What?! That's insane!" she moved the bowl to the table, "Move over." and got closer to Minho, -who changed the phone to his left ear, near to her- and she pressed her ear to the phone so they could both listen. They were sitting pretty close to one another but this was not the time to think about that; their friend was in trouble and he needed them.

 

* * *

 

After rambling on the phone with Minho and Teresa about everything that happened in the last hour, Thomas finally fell exhausted on his bed. His bedroom was pitch black, the lights turned off just seconds ago. He stared at the ceiling for a couple of minutes; just staring at it. The same ceiling. He felt his body numb. He didn't know what to do. Turning his head to the side, he observed his phone on his nightstand. Newt had told him he would call but he hadn't. Maybe he forgot. Yeah right, after tonight? But he was so tired he didn't even knew what to tell him. What could he say to him?

He heard some noises coming from downstairs and then steps getting closer, so he figured his dads would go to sleep. He turned to have his back at the door in case one of them wanted to check on him. Nothing happened. Just the sound of their door closing and nothing else.

Feeling his eyes heavy, he decided he should not fight the inevitable and get some sleep. Not even bothering getting under the covers, he closed his eyes and wished for everything to be a bad dream.

 

* * *

 

The next morning at the Hale house, Derek exited his room after finding the bed empty. As he walked through the hall, he eyed Thomas' closed door. _'He must be still sleeping.'_ He went downstairs and towards the kitchen, where he found Stiles already there, sitting in a stool with a mug of coffee while staring at the nothing. Derek entered the kitchen and as he walked towards the coffee maker, he opened his mouth,

"Good-

"I'm not going to apologize." answered Stiles immediately, not even blinking as he took a sip form his coffee.

"-morning. Did you slept well? I did, thank you very much."

Stiles closes his eyes, taking some air, "I know, Derek, I know." he opens them again, "Sorry."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

Stiles glares at him, "Don't push it." he puts his mug down, looking at the clock. 8:10 a.m. "Today Thomas has no school. Some teacher's meeting," he shrugs, "But unfortunately after I finish my coffee I have to go to the school for a meeting too." he stands up, putting his mug over the sink, "Since he's our son he might try to avoid his punishment, so I want you to keep an eye on him so he doesn't go out."

Derek snorts, taking a sip from his coffee, "You want me to stand guard?" Stiles sends him a glare, "You want me to stand guard." he repeats, only this time is an affirmation.

"Good."

Stiles walks towards the counter, where his car keys are and grabs them. He walks back to Derek and gives him a peck. With everything settled up, he walks to the door, opening it and waving at his husband before leaving.

Derek sighs after the door closes. He puts his coffee down on the table and walks towards the stairs. Okay. So on his day-off he's going to be babysitting his 18 year-old son. Great. He shakes his head while walking back up stairs. As he goes to Thomas' room he calls for his son,

"Thomas?"

Once he's standing in front of the door he sighs. "Thomas, are you awake?" he hears nothing, so he knocks the door, "Thomas? Thomas, are you in there?" still nothing. Was he that deep in sleep?

_'Maybe he's both physically and emotionally tired after last night. Or maybe he's mad at me and he doesn't want to talk.'_ That's the only explanations he finds for Thomas no answering at him. Of course, the other one being-

A thought crosses his mind and suddenly he's frowning.

_'He didn't. He better not or he'll be in trouble.'_

Looking at the door frame, he took a step back holding his right leg up and with all his might kick the door hard. The door fell to the floor like it was made of paper. The sound of the toilet flush and a door opening made Derek look at the bathroom's direction, where Thomas was exiting as he rubbed his sleepy eyes. The young brunet looked at his dad and then at his bedroom's entrance without a door, the one that was currently laying inside the room over the floor.

"What have you done?!" Thomas yelled at his dad as he approached him.

Derek was speechless, "Wha- I thought-"

"Is this what you're trained to do at the fire department? A _'shock and awe'_ on my door?!"

Derek looks around, "Okay, next time just stay in your room like we told you."

"I was at the bathroom!" he groans, "Dad, this is unfair, and you know it."

"And what do you want me to do? To defy your father?"

"Pops' crazy!"

"You think I don't know that?! I married the guy, remember?"

Thomas puts a hand over his eyes, shaking his head. He stays like that for a few seconds, "Dad... It wasn't my intention to say-

"I know."

"But I still did."

"I know."

"I'm really sorry."

"I know."

"I really love Newt."

"...I know."

Thomas uncovers his eyes, looking at his dad. Derek is simply looking back at him, arms crossed.

"I'm still grounded, tho?"

"I'm afraid so."

The brunet sighs in defeat, "Ok. I'll just go to the kitchen for something to eat and I'll go back to my cell." as he passes beside his dad, the older man pats his shoulder. This was going to be hard day.

 

* * *

 

Over the Reeds house, the things weren't going exactly good. Andrew was over the kitchen table in his pajamas and a wine color bathrobe, drinking his coffee calmly. There was no signal of Newt or Allison, as they were both in their bedrooms. Moments later there was a knock on the main door. Andrew stood up and went to answer the door. Once he opened it, Teresa was standing right in front of him,

"Good morning, Mr. Reed."

"He's in his bedroom." he answered as he moved aside to let her in.

Teresa didn't asked, she nodded. She went upstairs and to the blonde's room. She questioned whether she should knock or just enter. She decided on the latter. Turning the knob as slowly as she could, she opened the door, peeking inside. Newt was over his bed, wrapped in his blankets and looking at the window.

"Hey," she said in a soft voice. He didn't even moved.

She made her way in and closed the door behind her. Taking slow steps towards the bed, she took in Newt's appearance. His hair was disheveled, his eyes puffy and red, and looking like an abandoned puppy. She sat over the bed and looked at her friend.

"Tom told me."

Newt's eyes fixed on her. She didn't move or anything, nor said anything. She was waiting for him to be comfortable enough to speak. The Brit moved so he was leaning against the headboard and licked his lips before open his mouth,

"After I returned from Thomas' house, I went straight to my room. My mom... she knew, she had her phone in hand and... she tried to talk to me but I locked into my room. No more than 2 minutes later my mom entered my room and asked me why did I lied to her. I told her I didn't; I just didn't told her about it because I was afraid of what could happen. She took it the wrong way and before we knew it we started fighting. In other words, she won't let me see Thomas."

"Thomas' dads told him the same."

"So that's why he didn't call. Figures."

Teresa observed as the Brit took a pillow and hugged it to his chest, his eyes sad. She felt bad for him and Tom. But this was all a misunderstanding. Their parents weren't assholes; they were just hurt that their sons didn't told them about their relationship.

She puts a strand of hair behind her ear,

"Okay. First things first." she takes the pillow from his lap and throws it away, "Stop bawling your eyes over it and do something about it."

"How?"

"I really don't know." Newt deflated, "But you must do something. Prove your parents how much Thomas means to you."

Newt looked at the front, the raven girl's words sinking in his mind. She was right. But his parent's -especially his mom- weren't gonna hear anything from him if they were mad at him. So he had to think of something else.

 

* * *

 

Afternoon passed and soon the sky was painted with orange and yellowish colors. Over the Hale house, Thomas was at his room, lying on his back over his bed. He's been staring at the ceiling for the past two hours and he still doesn't know what to do. His dad took away his phone -pops orders- and he couldn't communicate with Newt. His door -which was still off its hinges-, was resting over the wall inside his room.

Thomas sighs and closes his eyes, ready to fall sleep; he didn't had anything better to do. He had his eyes close when a odd noise catches his attention, making him open them again. He eyes the window and hears the noise again. He frowns and gets up from bed, walking towards his window. Once he opens it, he stares at the outside, but there's nothing there. Maybe it was the wind? Or a cat. Just as he's about to sigh and turn around, ready to go back to bed, his Asian best friend appears in his face.

_"Thomas!"_

"Shit-" the brunet almost falls backwards. He looks at his room entrance and then at his friend, "Minho! You scared the hell out of me!" he helps his friend into his bedroom. "I never imagined you would climb to my window to get into my house."

"Yeah, me neither. But what can I say? I'm a romantic." Thomas rolled his eyes. "But that's not the reason I came here. I wouldn't have come all the way up if that were the case. Trust me; it was not easy."

"Ok. Then why are you here, Min?"

"I'm here to take you away. And since you can't use your bike, I brought my car. Don't worry." he said taking his car keys out.

"No, Min. If my dads find out that I'm not in my room, we're I'm supposed to be, they'll kill me."

"Umm, that's why you're gonna escape; so they don't know. _Duhh!_ "

"No thanks." the brunet sits on the edge of his bed, "I already have too many troubles to add one more to the list."

"Come on, bro. Newt asked me to."

That had Thomas attention. He turned to the Asian male, "What?"

"Well, technically he asked Teresa. And she asked me. And I'm telling you." he got closer to his friend over his bed, "He said to meet him at the parking lot of school and then you'll figure it out."

"Really?"

"Yeah. So move your ass and let's get going!"

Minho stays still, waiting for his friend to do something. He hopes that Thomas will want to go; he was not going back to climb out of the window without the brunet. Just a couple of seconds later Thomas nodded.

"Okay." he says standing up.

Minho claps with enthusiast; Thomas walks to his desk and picks up his jacket.

"Okay, let's go." he starts walking towards the room's entrance, but the raven's hand stops him.

"Wait! How are we gonna get out?"

"The front door is the easiest way."

"The front door? How are you gonna explain that to your dad? How are you gonna explain that I'm leaving through the door when I never came inside through it!"

"He's over his room. He won't notice."

They start going downstairs, looking around in case his dad got out of his room and they need to escape. Once they step onto the floor and ready to go to the door, a grumble startles them, and then there's shifting over the couch. Derek was lying over the couch onto his back, apparently taking a nap. Shit!

Thomas and Minho stand still, not knowing what move to do now. The brunet looks at the kitchen and has an idea.

"Come on, Min, let's try the back door."

Minho gasps loudly, putting a hand over his chest, "Thomas Hale! Coming on to me at a time like this!"

Thomas rolls his eyes and ignores his friend, "Come on!"

As they tip toe their way to the kitchen -the other way to get out-, a sleepy voice freezes them.

_"Thomas?"_

Shit.

The younger Hale quickly pushes Minho into the kitchen with his jacket and turns around in time for his dad to sit on the couch, rubbing his eyes with his hands.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you up."

"No, no... I needed to get up, anyways." he yawns as he checks his phone, "So what's up?"

Thomas points at the kitchen, "I was gonna go for a glass of water. Thirsty."

Derek nods and then stands up, stretching his arms as he does so and Thomas freaks out. Shit, he knows. He knows and now I'm dead. The old dark-haired man looks again at his phone and then walks towards the counter... to grab his car keys. What?

At his son's confused look, Derek speaks, "I'm going to have to go out. Some weird thing happened at the fire station and the guys want me to go and help them."

"Yeah, okay. I'll be at my room, I still have to study." he tried to act as normal as he could.

"Okay. If you need anything, I have my cell phone with me. Got it?"

Thomas nods. A minute later Derek leaved the house, leaving his son alone -or so he thought. Thomas waited 30 seconds after he heard the car engine to go to the kitchen and he and Minho left. God, he was so getting in trouble.

 

* * *

 

Allison was at the kitchen, apron on, and making dinner while Andrew was over the dining table at the computer, typing something down. Something related to work, maybe. The brunet woman continues chopping the vegetables; the whole place quiet except for the chopping sounds. She looks at the clock: almost time for dinner and Newt hadn't gone out of his room. Just for the bathroom once, but only that. But this wasn't going to stay like that. She sighs and closes her eyes, taking a moment before yelling,

"Dinner, Newt, now!"

From upstairs over his room, Newt's voice is heard,

_"I'm on a hunger strike, like Gandhi, driven to desperate measures by the insensitivity of the British government!"_ he can practically see his mom's eyes rolling and his dad's amused face, _"Not one morsel will pass my lips until you say I can see Thomas!"_

From the kitchen, Allison stabs the knife onto the wooden board, startling Andrew, "You have got two minutes to get to this table or the insensitive British government is gonna take the door off its hinges and drag you out here!"

But nothing came. Newt was still over his room, not moving a finger. Allison huffs angrily and continues chopping, each time harder. She feels a pair of eyes on her and looks up, turning her head to the dining room. She finds her husband looking at her.

"Now what?"

"I, uh," Andrew loved his wife, but he knew how tough she could be. And that scared him. Just a little. "Are you sure this is the way we have to react?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Honey, you know I support you. Always. But..." he sighs, "look at him." he says gesturing at the stairs. "He's going to retract from us."

Allison huffs, looking at the stairs. She shakes her head and continues chopping.

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, Derek returned to his house. Apparently, the 'emergency' the guys at the fire station had told him was a birthday party from one of them, and they all went to a bar after cutting the cake. It had been fun. Derek closed the door and looked around the dark house.

"Thomas! I'm home!" he walks towards the counter balancing a pizza box in his hand and his keys in the other, "You're hungry? I bought pizza." he eyes the stairs and nothing. Frowning, he puts the keys on the counter together with the pizza and walks towards the stairs. "Thomas?"

Going upstairs, he gets to Thomas' room and -since it didn't had door- he knocks on the frame, looking outside.

"Thomas? You awake?"

Nothing comes again, so he turns around and enters the room, finding it empty. Instead of overreacting like in the morning, he goes to the bathroom but finds it empty too. He goes to his and Stiles' room and nothing.

"Crap. Stiles' is gonna kill me."

 

* * *

 

Allison opens the door of her house, closing it behind her as she made her way to the kitchen. Sitting over the couch was Andrew reading a book while wearing glasses. Even after all those years, he still looked so cute. Putting her briefcase down, she let go of her hair.

"Hey,"

Andrew looks at her and smiles, "Hey. Long day?"

"You have no idea."

She goes upstairs and to Newt's room, only to find it empty. She thought of the bathroom but he wasn't there either. Going back downstairs, she goes to the kitchen and no trace of the blonde. She walks back to the living room, looking around when her eyes finally fall over her husband,

"Where's Newt?"

He looks up from his book to her, "He went out."

"He's grounded."

Andrew frowns in confusion, "Are they not allowed out when they're grounded?"

Allison rolls her eyes with her mouth semi-open and turns around, going to the kitchen for the phone.

 

* * *

 

Over the place they had gone for Christmas -outside of Beacon Hills-, inside the small cabin a little bit far from the one they had stayed, Thomas and Newt were over the living room. They were sitting on top of a blanket with food and drinks surrounding them.

"You sure they aren't gonna figure out we are here?" asked the blonde as he took a bite from his bread.

"Yeah. At least this won't be the first place they'll look for. This is the last place they would think of; maybe they won't even think about this place at all."

"I think you are right."

Looking at the front while eating, Thomas chuckled. His boyfriend turned to look at him with an eyebrow up,

"God, I can just imagine my dads faces." he stays still for a moment as if he were thinking and then shudders, "We are gonna get in so much trouble."

"Well, it's better to ask forgiveness than permission."

Thomas stares at him, "And I thought I loved you four seconds ago." Newt smiles at him and they lean forward, kissing.

 

* * *

 

Derek and Stiles got out of their car and walked towards the sidewalk, waiting for the other couple to arrive. As Derek put on the lock on the car, Stiles looked around in worry. It's been more than two hours since they last knew anything from Thomas and they were sick worried. And Allison and Andrew were worried too. Minutes later the Reeds arrived at the place; they were parking their car as Derek and Stiles waited for them. While they park, Derek looks at his husband. Stiles is tapping the ground with his left foot, looking anxiously around the place. The brunet feeling observed looks at his husband and back at the street. He frowns and looks back at Derek,

"What?" he huffs, "Come on, I know you're thinking of something. What is it?"

"Are you sure we aren't overreacting?"

"Derek, that kid got out of the house while he was grounded. And he escaped with his boyfriend who was also grounded. I am not overreacting!"

Andrew and Allison got out of their cars, ready to go their way.

Derek looks at him, "I just think it's going to be a little... uncomfortable."

"Oh, I guarantee it's going to be a little uncomfortable." he takes a step forward, "And if you do anything to make it any less uncomfortable, I will never forgive you."

They are interrupted by the sound of voices getting closer. Andrew and Allison were making their way to them, the Brit man over the phone.

"Newton, answering your cell phone will make discussing the terms of your grounding much easier." he looks at Allison and sighs, "Well, call me back before your punishment reaches biblical proportions." he hangs up and puts his phone into his pocket.

The four parents stand together in the street, looking at each other. Allison looks at the brunet Hale,

"Stiles. Anything?"

"No. He leaved his phone at home."

"We either. He must have turned it off."

"So what now?" asked Andrew.

Derek was the next one to talk. "Now we go further. Someone must know where they are."

"And I have in mind someone who might know." says Stiles.

 

* * *

 

Teresa was halfway the stairs over Minho's apartment with groceries bags on her hands. She was making her way in calm when she heard voices coming from below. Normal human instinct makes her look down and-

"Shit."

She sees Thomas and Newt's parents going up the stairs, talking between them. They were definitely going up and to Minho's apartment.

"Shit."

She runs all the way towards the apartment and opens the door quickly, closing it in a thud and throwing the groceries over the counter. Shit, they were in trouble! Minho came out of the shower all dressed up with a towel drying his wet hair.

"Hey, what's with the-

"Thomas' parents! Newt's parents! Thomas and Newt's parents!" she yells.

Minho's eyes widen, "Wait, what?"

"They're here! At the stairs!"

"Holy- we need to get out! They probably noticed that Thomas isn't home!"

"We can't run! They are already halfway up!"

"Then we'll hide. They won't know we are here and they'll leave."

They hear a knock on the door and they freeze. Another knock and then a voice calling for Minho, which sounded like Thomas' dad.

In a hushed voice Minho says "In the laundry room!"

"The laund-

"Laundry room! Hurry!"

He starts pushing the raven girl towards the small room and once they're inside, he closes the door. They stay there in silence; Minho looking at the door with his back at the raven girl.

"Now we'll just wait 'till they leave and-"

They hear the sound of the knob and the door opening, and the sound of steps getting into the apartment, followed by voices.

Teresa's eyes widen, "How in the world did they got in?"

"Thomas' key! He must have left it over his room, that shank."

"Ugh, they are gonna kill us."

Minho hears the distress in her voice and turns around, "Hey, hey. Don't worry." they look into each other's eyes, "I'll protect you, Teresa. You'll always be safe with me." and then he feels a hand on his shoulder, startling him, "Ahh!" he grabs Teresa and puts her in front of him, "Take her!"

Derek gives them a look as he takes his hand away and takes a step back to let them step out of the room. The rest of the adults stand there over the living room, staring at them.

Minho smiles nervously, "Oh, hey, Mr. Hale." he looks at Stiles, "Mr. Hale." and at the other couple, "Mr. and Mrs. Reed."

"Minho. Is Thomas here?"

"Wha- no. No, why would he? He's grounded."

"Well, he was grounded but apparently he escaped. And so did Newt."

"Wow. That's weird. We've been here all day, so we don't know anything. Sorry we can't help."

Andrew nods and is about to move to leave when Allison puts a hand over his chest. The rest of them are looking at him with an _'I don't believe you'_ look.

Stiles takes a step forward,

"Minho, if you know where Thomas and Newt are, I swear-

Allison eyes Teresa, who is looking at everywhere but them. "Teresa?" they all look at her, "Teresa, if you know, please tell us. We just want to talk to them."

Minho snorts, "Yeah, right. The only thing you want is to find them so you can ground them again so they can't never see each other again." Derek raises an eyebrow at him, "Sir."

Stiles shakes his head, "We don't. Really. We just..." he sighs, "We want them to talk to us. _Please_."

Teresa looks between the Hales and Minho -who is shaking his head 'no'. She keeps looking between them before she closes her eyes and sighs. _'Forgive me, Tom.'_

 

* * *

 

Still over the cabin, Thomas put his dish away and turned to his side to look at Newt.

"You know... This is the place where we first made love." he said with a smile.

The blonde smiled back, "Really?"

"Yeah. At least if our parents find us here, we'll be last together in the place we first got together." he frowns at his own words, having got confused about them.

Newt laughs at his confused face. "You're such a dork."

"But I'm your dork."

They lean forward and their lips meet in a soft kiss. Gosh, how he loved those lips. They separate and smile at each other, ready to go for another kiss when they hear some noises outside the cabin, but before they can open their mouths to ask what was it, there's a knock on the door.

_"Thomas! Open up!"_

"Shit!"

They both stand up quickly. Thomas' hands are sweaty. _'They found them! How- Now it's not the time.'_ He goes to turn around and run, but Newt's hand around his arm stops him.

"Tommy, wait!"

Thomas looks back at him. _'Why is he stopping me now? They could easily run away from them!'_

Newt nods at him with a smile, like telling him it was okay. Trusting him, he stays still until the door opens, revealing their parents.

"Dad, pops."

"Mom, dad."

Their parents just stood there, staring back at them with neutral faces. No one seemed to be in the mood to talk. Thomas felt his hands sweaty; he had to do something, he had to say something.

Stiles nodded, "Well, it seems like we all are tired and need to go home." he said turning around.

"Pops— 

"Thomas, not now, let's go."

_"I'M SORRY!"_

Everything fell silent; no one made a single move. The Reeds glanced at each other. Derek looked between his son and husband. Stiles turned around, eyes wide and mouth ajar. Since he had their attention, Thomas continued.

"Pops... Listen. I-I know you're upset about what I said... and did. And I want to tell you that I'm sorry. I didn't mean to tell you that I thought you would want to separate us. I really don't think that." Stiles closes his mouth. "It's just... I never had a formal relationship, you know? Someone I could call a girlfriend or boyfriend. Someone I really cared about and someone who cared about me. And then," he turns to Newt, "This beautiful and kind guy appeared in the picture. And he makes me so happy." Newt smiles. He turns to look back at his pops, "But that doesn't mean that I had the right to tell you what I said. I acted stupid, with no consideration, and I thought you were just being a jerk."

Derek raises an eyebrow at him, but Stiles doesn't move. Thomas stays still, waiting for him to say something. Newt is still at his side, and that makes him feel a little relief. Thomas mutters _'I'm sorry.'_ through tears.

"You shouldn't."

Something inside him broke. He thought his pops would forgive him, would tell him something else. Well... Goodbye, Newt. He went to open his mouth but Stiles raised his hand to stop him.

"I'm the one who should be sorry." he shrugs, "I do acted like a jerk."

"Pops-

"No, I did. I-I don't even know why I acted that way. I'm not like that. It just... hurt me, you know?"

"I do."

"It hurt me that my son would think of me like that."

Allison looked back at Newt, who also looked at her. She smiled at him and he returned the smile.

"I'm sorry." said Thomas.

"I know you do. I'm sorry too."

"I know you do."

Stiles took a step forward with his arms open and that is all it took for Thomas to go into his pops arms, engulfing him in a hug. The older brunet held him tight and kissed his hair. They all were smiling at each other.

"So," Allison said with a clap, "I think all this is settled now. Why don't we all go for something to eat?"

"Sounds good to me." said Derek, who looked at his husband.

Stiles nodded, still hugging Thomas, "Yeah, I'm starving."

Andrew was the next one to speak, "All right, then! Let's go eat!"

Allison stretched her hand to his son, who took it and went to her side. His dad hugged him sideways. The two brunet Hales walked to Derek's side and the taller man hugged them both. Both families were hugging their respective kids as they walked through the door and towards their cars. Just as the parents got into their vehicles, Newt and Thomas looked at each other. Thomas saw the blonde mouth _'I love you'_ , so he did the same. Thomas got to sit beside him during dinner and he couldn't be happier.

 

_"True love cannot be found where it does not exist, nor can it be denied where it does." - Torquato Tasso._


	41. Let's Talk About Sex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! I'm back with another chatper! Yey! Sorry if it took long to update it.  
> Warnings: There's a little smut part in this chapter, so if you don't like that you can skip it. It starts in the part where it says *Flashback* in bold.
> 
> Without anything else to say, I'll let you enjoy this chapter!

_"Safe sex is an act of self love." - Miya Yamanouchi._

 

It had been almost a week and a half after their parents knew about Thomas and Newt -they were at beginning of April-, and things had been fairly well. Of course Thomas now had to call his dad every time he wanted to stay at Minho's, so he could check on Aunt Allison that Newt was at his house. Not that his dad didn't trust him, but he said _'horny teenagers in love are dumb horny teenagers'_.

Okay. His dads didn't want to be grandparents just yet. Good; he didn't wanted to be a father right now. Plus, they always wear a condom when they do it. And besides, who do his dads think they are? Didn't they had Thomas when his pops was his age? Anyway, they were still being held by the collar and under their parent's watch. So, Newt and him had to make every little 'alone time' they had worth it.

Right now they were at Newt's empty house, making out over the couch. Not in the same position they were when Thomas' dads found them, but very similar. Not that they realized that. Newt cupped the brunet's face as they deepened the kiss; Thomas' hands roaming over his sides as they leaned a little back on the couch.

Newt chuckled when Thomas started peppering kisses along his neck, " _Tommy..._ No hickeys this time. It was awkward that my mom had to point it out to me the other day."

" _Mmm_ , well, if you had covered it up, maybe she wouldn't have noticed it."

"Jerk,"

"Yes, but I'm your jerk."

The blonde laughed and pushed together their lips again, but they are interrupted when they hear the sound of keys and know that Newt's parents had arrived. They compose themselves, sitting back straight and wait for the adults to enter the house, but instead of that they hear voices,

_"Are you sure we shouldn't announce ourselves before entering?"_ came Andrew's voice.

_"Come on, they are not going to be naked in the living room, knowing we could arrive at any time."_ Allison's voice said.

_"Yeah, I didn't mean that. But remember how it was being that age and being with your partner alone and all that stuff."_

_"Yes, I know. We were together when we were that age, remember?"_

_"How could I forget? You were so beautiful. And still are. And I'm so glad Newt got your good looks."_ Newt felt his cheeks getting red.

_"Well, I couldn't blame Thomas for picking Newt. He is so handsome, just like his dad."_ there was a kind of purr coming from her that made the two teenagers look at each other.

Andrew's voice changed into one more seductive, _"Oh, really? Well,-_

"You know we can hear you, right?" yelled Newt; his face more red than he thought it could get, while Thomas tried not to laugh.

A moment of silence, then the sound of keys was heard and the knob twisting until the door opened, revealing Andrew and Allison with some bags.

"Oh, hey!" they both smiled. Allison approached the couch, "How you doing, Thomas? How are your dads?"

"They're fine, thanks. You, aunt Ally?"

"Great!" she cupped his chin and kissed his forehead before turning to her son, "Oh! Before I forget it, I bought you some shirts I want you to try on. Come on,"

"Mom!" whined the blonde.

"Now, Newton."

Newt sighed and gave Thomas a small kiss while whispering "Be right back." and standing up, going with his mother upstairs to change. That leaved Thomas and Andrew alone over the living room.

They sit there, waiting for the pair to get back to the living room. While looking around the room, Andrew was the first one to speak,

"So, how's school?"

"Ugh, tired. But thank God we are getting closer to finish it."

"Yeah. I hope you guys pass all your exams."

Thomas smiled, "Thanks, Mr. Reed."

Andrew nodded, and then he cleared his throat, "So, listen, you know I'm supposed to give you the _'you better not hurt my son, or I'll hunt you down'_ talk, right? But I'm not gonna do it."

Thomas frowned at that. Does that mean that he didn't cared? Or that he knew Thomas wouldn't hurt Newt? Or maybe he wanted to see what kind of reaction Thomas would have?

He was shaken off of his thoughts by Andrew speaking again, "You know... The first time we moved away, I tried to teach Newt boxing."

Thomas kind of snorted, "Really?" the word 'tried' floating on his mind.

"Yeah. He was bad at it." he chuckles, "Then Allison taught him some good moves and since then he's gotten pretty good at fighting back." Thomas nods in acknowledgment Andrew sits forward, hands tangled and his posture firm, and with a nonchalantly tone he says, "So if you ever hurt my boy, I'm not coming for you. I'm just gonna re-teach him what I know, then sit back and watch him kick your butt."

Thomas stared back at him with wide eyes before a bark of a laugh escaped him, "Honestly Mr. Reed, that was the last thing I expected to hear."

They laughed just as Newt and Allison came down. The two of them exchanged looks but decided to ignore it, and went to the couch to their respective partners.

 

* * *

 

At Aris' house, he and Teresa were over the lighter brunet's room, books over the bed as they studied. The raven girl putted down her notebook and went to the bureau where her glass of water was. After she took a sip from it, she spoke,

"Hey, how come you didn't play some music or something?"

"I didn't wanted to distract you."

"Please, like you don't know me." she said with a smile, which he smiled back.

With that Aris stretched over his bed and put the radio on. Shakira's "Whenever, Wherever" started playing in the radio. Teresa smiled, looking at Aris and pointing at the radio. He smiles and knows what she means with that. She starts singing,

_"Lucky that my lips not only mumble, they spill kisses like a fountain."_ she grabs her breasts, making the lighter brunet chuckle, _"Lucky that my breasts are small and humble, so you don't confuse them with mountains."_ she nods at him, indicating him he's next.

_"Lucky I have strong legs like my mother, to run for cover when I need it."_ he covers his eyes, _"And these two eyes that for no other, the day you leave will cry a river."_

They start laughing, doubled in half. Once they recover, the raven girl puts her glass down and sighs. She grabs the hair tie from her wrist and starts to pick up her hair in a ponytail. While she's at it, Aris looks at her,

"So... have you decided if you're gonna tell Minho?"

"Tell Minho what?" Aris sent her a look, which made her understood, "Oh, come on, Aris. You can't be serious."

"Yes I'm serious." he puts his pen down, "Teresa, we're graduating in a month. You need to tell him."

"No, I don't need to." she ends with her hair and walks towards the bed, "Besides, you said it yourself. We're graduating. I don't know if we'll still be in contact, so why should I tell him? So he can be awkward for the rest of the month and probably our last days together?"

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I know." she sits on the bed beside Aris, "I also know that I don't want to feel that way. Don't want to feel... not loved. Rejected."

The lighter brunet puts a hand over hers in comfort, "Okay. So maybe you need to forget about Minho and go find yourself another man."

"I know that."

He snatches his hand back, throwing it up in the air in exclamation, "And yet you aren't looking for anyone!"

"Hey! You broke up with Dan and haven't dated anyone since."

"Yes, but I already had a boyfriend, so it doesn't count."

Teresa huffs, lying on her back and staring at the ceiling. She feels the shift in the bed as Aris lies down beside her.

"There's nothing wrong with doing it without being in a relationship, you know?" he says.

"No thanks. If I'm going to give myself to someone, I would rather be in a relationship. At least in that way I wouldn't feel used just for sex."

"I so much respect you right now." moments of silence went before Aris spoke again, "I would respect you more if you had the guts to tell Minho."

Teresa rolls her eyes and sits up, "Fine! I will tell him!" Aris grinned as he sat up too, "But don't rush me! I need to think how I'm going to do it and all. And until then you can't tell anyone!"

"Don't worry, don't worry. My lips are sealed..."

"Thank you."

"Just like your legs." at the look the raven girl sends him, Aris covered his mouth. "Oh! God, that was rude. Why did I say that?" he said with a mocking tone. A pillow straight to his face shushed him immediately.

 

* * *

 

At the afternoon, Allison and Andrew were over their room watching TV, lying on the bed and cuddling. There was some old rom-com movie playing and the couple just relaxed in the bed, a blanket over them. As a scene where the two main characters started making out and getting a little farther -tho it doesn't show much skin-, Allison turned to her husband.

"You know what I'm thinking of right now?"

Andrew's eyes that were glued to the TV look at his wife with wide and longing eyes, "...No?"

"About Newt and Thomas." Andrew's face changes into one with confusion. Allison sits straight and takes the remote, muting the movie, "Well, now that he has someone on his mind, and he's gonna be home alone while we're away, I think you need to talk to him about safe sex."

Andrew groans, " _Oww_... What, are you kidding me?"

Allison frowns, "No! We don't know what he knows and doesn't know about sex!"

"And I'd like to keep it that way!"

"And I'd like to keep him from getting AIDS!"

Andrew sighs in defeat. He can't beat his wife in that. "Alright, alright, alright, fine, fine, I'll go have a talk with him about the birds and... the birds." Allison smiles and pats his shoulder, cuddling against him again and unmuting the movie.

 

* * *

 

A little later after that, Andrew goes down to the living room and sees Newt sitting over the couch reading a comic book. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath before approaching his son.

"So, uh..." the blonde looks at him, "You're-you're reading a comic book, huh?"

Newt smiles and nods, "Yeah."

"Yeah… Well, you know how those things come wrapped in plastic to protect them?"

"Um, yeah?"

"Well, that's always a good idea in general, you know, it's good to keep things wrapped up to protect them, you know what I'm saying?" says Andrew with a clap, trying not to sound too stupid.

Newt closes the comic book, "Please tell me this is about me leaving the ham out on the counter?" he says pointing at the kitchen, still looking at his father. Andrew shakes his head saying _'no'_. "Oh my God, are you trying to talk to me about... safe sex?"

Andrew sits beside him, "Yeah, but, uh, there's nothing to feel weird about."

In both their minds the same thought passed at the same time: _'This is the most uncomfortable moment of my entire life!'_

"Okay, now, look, I looked up some stuff online, and it turns out that there's safe, safer, and safest sex. The safest sex would be you calling up Thomas and saying _'I hate you, I'm moving to Russia, and don't ever contact me again.'_ "

Newt nods, "Okay, I understand, are we done now?"

"Unfortunately not. Now listen to me, when two guys, uh, _you know_ , together, and they decide they, _uh_..."

In his mind, Andrew started ranting: _'Oh, how did it come to this? How did that wind up in a conversation about the intricacies of gay sex?'_

Back at the reality, Andrew had his hands intertwined, moving them up and down, and separating some fingers. Newt looked at it with wide eyes and his mouth open, even looking more closely to his hands. Andrew stops doing it and Newt nods, "That makes sense?"

"Yeah-yeah, I really don't think we need to talk about this anymore." he says patting his dad's knee and trying to stand up, "I think I got it."

Andrew stops him and sits him again, "No, no, you think you got it? Come on, that's not good enough, Newt, alright? This isn't like regular sex when there's some girl there to say 'no' to everything."

Newt's face pales and deep inside he wished he had homework to do, but unfortunately he didn't. And his dad knew that. Andrew sits more comfortable and continues talking, "You two guys, okay, and let's face it, I mean, guys are animals, and what happens when you get two animals together? Huh?" the blonde shakes his head, not knowing the answer, "They attack each other!" he says joining his hands, "Right? So before you go out there and you get attacked, you need to learn all the facts, alright?"

Newt looks beside him, not meeting his father's eyes.

"Now, listen to me. When it comes to bondage..." the blonde guy looks at him, "and, according to my research, it will come to bondage." Newt's eyes widen, scratching the back of his neck. This was going to be a long afternoon.

 

* * *

 

A little later, Aris is alone at his house, Teresa long ago gone. His parents were still out, so he had the house to himself. Waltzing towards the kitchen for something to eat, he heard his phone ringing from over the counter, where he had left it. Grabbing it, he sees the screen: Gally's name. He sits on the nearest chair and answers,

"Hello?"

Gally's voice comes from the other line, _"Question: I tried to defrost a chicken in the microwave..."_ Aris hears a squeeze sound, _"And some of it's kind of cooked, some of it's… kind of not. Do you think it's still cool to eat the cooked part?"_

Aris laughs, covering his eyes with a smile, "No! Don't eat that!" he continues laughing.

The dirty blonde laughs too, _"Then, please, come over and bail me out."_

"Okay. I'll be there in 10." he hangs up his phone and stares at it for a moment, before he shakes his head and stands up, keys in hand as he walks towards the door.

 

* * *

 

At the Hale house Thomas was at the kitchen, preparing a sandwich for himself as he was going to his room and study. School was getting near to its end, so better end it with a bang. And with a bang he means good grades and pass his exams. As he finished with his sandwich he saw his father entering the kitchen with something on his hand that it looked like papers. Derek stared back at him as he approached his son. He knew that look in his eyes: he was screwed. Something bad was going to happen.

Okay, so quick _'what had happened the previous days'_ : While cleaning Thomas' room and arranging his clothes, Stiles found an almost empty condom box in his boxers drawer. And how does Thomas knows that? Because the next day he found a brand new box in his bed; the same brand, size and all. He had felt so ashamed that he thought he wouldn't be able to use them, knowing how he got them.

Back to the present, both Hales continued to stare at each other before whatever Derek had in hand was putted down over the counter, which made Thomas break eye contact; his eyes going to the pamphlets over the counter.

Thomas' eyes went from the pamphlets to his dad, "What are those?"

"Those are some pamphlets that I picked up from the free clinic. I thought it might help the process along, because it is time you and I had 'the safe sex talk'."

"No, it's not."

"Yes, it is. I know this-

Thomas turns around and puts both hands over his ears and starts singing _"La, la, la, la!"_ trying to block his father's voice; he starts walking away from the other man.

Derek starts walking behind him, following him out of the kitchen. "Hey, you think this is easy for me-"

_"La, la, la, la!"_

Then he grabs Thomas by the shoulders and walks them to the dining table, the younger brunet pouting. "Okay, believe me, I want to do this even less than you do." Thomas sits on the other side of the table, "This is going to _suck_ for both of us, but we are going to get through it together, and we will both be better men because of it." Derek then sits too. This was going to be so awkward.

Clearing his throat and putting his hands over the table, Derek starts, "So, first things first. First: I feel so proud that you are using protection without any of us telling you."

_Ha! He knew his pops found out about his condoms. Oh dear God, his pops found out about his condoms._

"Second: Sooner or later we knew this day would come. I had the talk, your pops had the talk, and now you'll have it."

"But dad, I-

"Shush it!" Thomas shut his mouth closed, "Yes, I know. You all now know everything with just a click on the computer. Well, that's not true. I mean, yes, you can find information there... But it might be misleading or incomplete!"

As his dad continued rambling, Thomas' mind started wandering. Okay, this was awkward. Don't get him wrong. He was glad his folks were worried about him enough to talk about this; much parents don't talk to their children about sex or safe sex. But they -Newt and him- weren't idiots. They knew the risks of unprotected sex. They always, ALWAYS used protection.

......

Expect maybe that one time...

 

**_*Flashback*_ **

Over Thomas' house -empty house, I may add-, the brunet and the blonde were over Thomas' room, specifically over his bed. Newt was over his back with Thomas on top of him, between his legs. The brunet was thrusting into his boyfriend hard, making the Brit claw at his back and arms and occasionally at his hair, which only made the brunet thrust harder. While watching his gorgeous boyfriend panting and moaning for him, he started feeling that tingling in the pit of his stomach that announced his climax getting closer. That's when he remembered that they were so horny to touch each other that they didn't grab a condom.

"Shit- shit!" Thomas babbled, grabbing Newt's arms while trying to pull the other boy off as quickly as possible, "Wait, I'm not wearing a- I'm not wearing-"

"It's okay." he heard the blonde say, pushing back in more, "It's okay, I want it. I want you." he pulled the brunet so he was panting over his ear.

"No, no, no, Newt-"

" _Come._ Come inside me." he breathed out in the brunet's ear, making the other jerk forward with a long whine, feeling the hands on his hips clenching harder as if they would melt into his skin. Feeling Newt getting tighter around him, Thomas released himself inside the blonde, swearing as he did so. The Brit came seconds after him, wetting their torsos.

They both stayed in their positions for a while, breathing, listening to each other's breathing, not really moving at all. After catching his breath, Thomas slowly pulled out of the other, feeling a little horrible for coming unprotected into his boyfriend. The blonde let go of his neck and shoulders, fingertips matching the ones on his own hips.

As he leaned back at the bed, Newt felt the liquid dripping down his thighs, "Oh god."

"Shit, I told you-

"I know, I know. I just... wanted to feel you."

Thomas groaned as he looked at his face, flushed but sincere. He couldn't blame him, could he? He also felt wonderful, so... Who cares? But on the other side, "Please, don't make me this." he groaned as he let himself fall over Newt, his body covering the blondes', resting his head on his chest, hearing his comforting heart beat. Newt started playing softly with his hair, lifting both his legs a little so the brunet was in between them. They lied together in the bed until

**_*Flashback ends*_ **

 

_"Thomas!"_

Thomas was shaken out of his thoughts by Derek's voice. The dark-haired man was looking at him with serious eyes.

"Are you listening?"

Thomas nodded, "Loud and clear."

His dad continued, and so did Thomas. He remembered the afterwards. After they had sex, it took Newt almost 10 minutes before he realized what he had done and almost instantly he started cursing -God, he's so hot when he's cursing- and called someone on the phone. Thomas tried not to feel jealous that his boyfriend was talking to someone after they had sex. He felt a little relieved at knowing it was Aris on the other line. As Newt got dressed, he asked Aris to drive him to the nearest convenience store for... a morning after pill.

Thomas gulped. Hard.

As Newt sat on the bed beside Thomas -who had finally put on his boxers- to tie his shoes, Thomas heard something along the lines of _"So our practical rubber friend failed us, huh?"_ and then with a sultry tone _"Or maybe did you... You know."_

"Zip it, Aris. I'll be at your house in five." he hangs up, finishing with his shoes. He kissed Thomas on the cheek and sprang out of the room, going down the stairs and finally reaching the main door. He yelled 'be right back!' and closed the door, and Thomas had never been so scared of a decision he made.

Fortunately, nothing happened. But his dads can never found out about their little Odyssey.

 

* * *

 

At Gally's house, he and the lighter brunet were over the dining table, eating what had been left of chicken. Gally's aunt and uncle had to go out for some work stuff and Alby had gone to a date with Ben. That leaved Gally and Aris alone.

Moving what was on his plate, Aris grimaces, "I'm sorry I couldn't salvage it more, but..."

The dirty blonde shakes his head chuckling, "You did fine. The damage was done."

"Yeah." he puts his fork down, "At least we have the soup in the microwave." they chuckle at that. He looks at Gally, "So... How's everything? How are your aunt and uncle?"

"They are fine. Fine. And your parents?"

"Fine, thanks."

Looking back at his plate, the dirty blond grabbed his glass of water and took a sip, "So... do I want to know why you and Teresa were at school the other day and had to hide in the closet?"

Aris raises both eyebrows, "Oh yeah. Actually, we were making a porno at the Art room."

"Really?" Gally smirked.

"Aha. But you two interrupted us, so we might have to do it another day." he chuckles, closing his eyes while shaking his head, "No. Actually, I needed to paint a topless painting for my Art class and Teresa was my model. Oh God. Don't tell anyone that's Teresa there; she would kill me."

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." he puts his glass down, "You know you now owe me twice, right?"

At that, Aris remembered what Teresa told him and started laughing, trying to cover it by putting his hand over his mouth, but Gally noticed it.

"What?"

"Nothing, nothing. I just..."

"Tell me."

Aris decides against it but at the end he does it. "Okay." he clears his throat, "So, Teresa had an interesting idea."

"Really? What was it?"

He shrugs, "She said that since you helped us the other day, I should repay you by making you dinner some day." he snorts, "Can you believe her?"

"She does have a point."

Aris stops with his mouth open, and blinks twice, "Wha- you don't want to taste my food."

"Is it that horrible?"

"No, I- No, it's _not_!" he feels his cheeks getting red, "I meant... It's stupid, don't you think?"

"Why? It's perfectly reasonable. I saved your ass and now you should repay me."

"'I should repay you.'" Aris repeats in a mocking tone. At Gally's stare, he continues, "I shouldn't be repaying you, and definitely not by making you something to eat."

"Fine. Then why don't you take me out."

Aris was about to retort to that comment but his brain stops. Did he heard right? Had Gally implied... a date? _A real date_? Just the two of them? Gally continued to stare at him, like if what he just said wasn't a big deal. Which made Aris feel his face getting more red every passing second. He started feeling dizzy and his head hurt; he needed to get out of Gally's sight.

"I need to use the bathroom." he said standing up, ready to go to the bathroom near the living room.

Gally also stood up, "Sure. Um, that bathroom is actually... is malfunctioning, but you can use my bathroom. My room is the one at the right corner."

"Okay."

Aris didn't say anything else and went straight to the stairs. He walked through the hall and towards the room at the corner. Opening the door he didn't wasted time in watch the room, he just went to the bathroom door. He opened it and entered, leaving the door ajar. Approaching the sink he opens the faucet and lets the water flow for a moment before cupping his hands below the water and splashing the cool water all over his face. He pants for air and closes the faucet; gripping the sink with both hands, he looks up and watches his reflection on the mirrored cabinet.

His face was dripping with water, his bangs wet and plastered over his forehead. Picking up a towel, he dried his face and looked back at his reflection.

_'Maybe Gally has something for headaches...'_

With his right hand he opens the white cabinet, finding several medicines there, together with a black little box. XL condoms. He grabs them and stares at the box. _'XL condoms? Huh. I wouldn't know since we didn't used one the first time we had sex. But who would knew...'_

"Everything alright?"

Aris turns around startled, looking at the dirty blond standing by the door. Gally is looking back at him and that is when he realizes that he's still holding the condoms. Trying to act cool, he relaxes a little and holds the box up,

"I don't know who you are fooling with these, Dante."

The dirty blond enters the bathroom, "Don't think they are the right size?"

Aris shakes his head, "No."

Gally takes a few steps into his personal space, "How about I show you?"

Aris nodded unamused, looking up, "Interesting. I'm gonna stick with no." he said tilting his head.

They stayed like that, staring at each other, standing too close, their legs touching. Aris could feel his breathing over his face, which made him want to close his eyes. Neither of them said anything; didn't knew what to say. Aris licks his lips -an action that doesn't goes unnoticed by the tall blonde- and opens his mouth to speak when he barely registers a sound coming from downstairs.

"The microwave oven is ringing." he says instead.

"Must be the soup." but they still don't move. They still don't blink.

"We should go and check it." he manages to go around Gally and towards the door, "We don't want to screw it too, right?" and exits the bathroom, going downstairs.

Gally stays in the bathroom in the same position he was, glancing at his back at the door where Aris had left.

"Yeah... We don't want to screw it."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, kids, a note: Don't forget to use protection when having sex (even if you're two guys or two girls, which means you can't get pregnant). There's more than getting preggers, like an STD. Just do it (without a condom) with someone you trust completely, and if you know they are clean. Always be safe ;)


	42. Love Me Tender?

Over the Hale house, Thomas and Minho were at the brunet's room over his bed, playing videogames -Mario Kart, thank you very much. They were grunting and laughing and moving over the bed.

Minho was gritting his teeth as he tried to surpass the brunet, "No, no, _NO_!"

"Yes, yes, _YES_!"

Minho starts swatting at his control, "No! You're cheating!"

Thomas crosses the line first, Minho in second place. Minho throws the controller over the bed in a huff while Thomas throws his arms up in victory.

The brunet turns to his friend, "Admit it. You're such a sore loser!"

"I am not! I was winning at lap 2 before you threw that freaking green shell!

"Nothing is out of bounds when it comes to love and Mario Kart."

The Asian male pushes a finger at the other's chest, "Dude, I _so_ owned your ass on the Rainbow road."

"Yeah, for the first time in forever!"

"Don't 'Frozen' me, bro! Enough torture knowing you won."

Thomas laughs, putting his controller aside. Minho laughs too, playfully nudging his friend. Thomas waits until the laughter is over and they stay in silence to speak again. He clears his throat,

"So, how are things with Sonya?"

Minho waits for a second before answering, "Fine."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. How are things with Newt?"

"Excellent."

"Cocky,"

Thomas chuckles, "Hey, I'm just saying the truth." he stays silent for a moment and when he thinks Minho is going to say they continue playing again, he clears his throat. "Hey. Can I ask you a question?" he asks nonchalantly.

"Anything. Shoot."

"Well, a friend of mine told me that he saw Teresa the other day at her work, and he asked me about her. You know, how she was, and what she liked, and stuff. And he's... kind of interested in her, you know what I mean?" he tried to act as if he were talking about anything else, but over the corner of his eyes he glanced at Minho. The raven male had his jaw tighten. "And then I started to wonder about her. I mean, she's pretty, that's obvious." Minho nods along with him, "Teresa is my best friend. She's almost like a sister to me, so I can't quite tell what do guys find that they become so attracted to her." he turns to Minho, "So tell me. What do you think of her?"

Minho seems startled for a moment. "What I think of her? Wha-wha do you mean?"

"Dunno. Do you think she's pretty?"

"...I guess."

"I mean, if you could date her, would you think she's pretty-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! _Dude_ ," the raven boy has his eyes open wide, hands up in the air. "You can't ask someone with a girlfriend that!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-

Minho puts a hand in front of him to stop him. He grabs his controller, "Just... Let's continue playing, ok?"

Thomas looks down at his bed and then too picks up his controller, "...Okay."

They never talked about that topic again. But Thomas wasn't going to give up.

 

* * *

 

Teresa was over an apparel store, walking through the aisles of lingerie. Her latest bra had ripped from the front, just under her breasts and was pinching her, -who puts metal wires inside the bras, anyways?-, so she decided to go and buy a new one.

There were so many options: seamless bra, padded bra, demi bra, bandeau bra. Should she take a red one or a green one? Maybe a black one. She was still deciding which bra should she take when her eyes fall on a red lace bra. She touches it -damn, it was soft. But this was something a model would use. She never really understood why girls would buy this kind of undergarments. I mean, sure, it looked sexy and all, but nobody would see it. It goes underneath your clothes, not on top. And the only person who would see them would just want take it off -they're more interested in what's underneath.

_'Maybe that's why you don't have a boyfriend. You and your stupid mentality.'_

She shakes her head and her thoughts. She instead grabs it and puts it in front of her body, looking at herself over the mirror.

_'Mm... Not bad. Right? Or did she look bad? How the hell would she know?!'_

She looking at her reflection with a worried look when a saleswoman approaches her with a smile, startling her.

"Oh, that looks so nice on you!" Teresa looks at her, "You have a perfect skin tone; either this or the blue one, you should definitely take." she wriggles her eyebrows, "I'm sure your boyfriend will like it."

Teresa smiles shyly, putting a strand of hair behind her ear, "Oh, I-I don't have a boyfriend."

"Girlfriend?"

"...No. But thanks for not being afraid to ask." she puts the bra back on its place.

"Complicated?"

Teresa sighs, "You have no idea."

The saleswoman, who is only a couple of years older than Teresa, gives her a sympathetic smile and claps her hands together. "Well, if you want my opinion," she waits for the raven girl to let her know she does; so then she looks over the bras and picks a royal blue push up lace bra, "You should take this one. Boyfriend or no boyfriend, no man can resist this."

Teresa takes it, looking at her reflection with the bra. The woman stands beside her, looking at the mirror too.

"Seriously, girl, with your black hair, fair skin and blue eyes, how come you're not taken?"

Teresa grimaces, "Because the boy I like is."

 

* * *

 

First thing in the morning at school, Teresa was over her locker, taking out her books and notebooks. She was doing everything automatically, as her mind was somewhere else.

_'Maybe I should forget about Minho. He's a 'no-no'. I mean, it's not like it's going to happen. He has a girlfriend and he sees me only as a friend. Plus, Sonya is more pretty than me... right?'_ she shakes her head, _'We're better off as friend, either way. So I need to take this stupid girly crush out of my head! Now! It won't lead to something nice.'_

She sighed. Maybe it was for the best.

_'It's not like it would be that awful to just being friend with him... right?'_

The bell rang and Teresa snapped from her trance; books in her grip, she closed her locker. She heard the distinct squeaking sound of sneakers as someone ran through the hall so she turned her head to the left and saw Thomas and Minho approaching her- well, more like running towards her like mad men, books about to fall from their hands. She smiled and raised her hand, and as they got closer to her she spoke

"Hey, Tom-

The brunet and Asian ran past her, not even stopping to say 'hello'. As they ran to their class, Thomas shouted from over his shoulder,

"Sorry! Don't have time! We overslept!"

" _'We'_?! Who was the one who had to put the alarm, huh?!"

"I already said I was sorry!"

"Not enough!"

And disappear while turning the corner. Teresa stays there for a second before chuckling and she too went to her class.

 

* * *

 

Third period and Aris was walking down the hall towards his class... which had started about 15 minutes ago. Why he was just entering his class, you might wonder? Well, a teacher had asked for his help, and while helping her he got late. The good news was that she had signed a note that excused Aris from coming late, so the teacher wouldn't complain about him.

Entering his classroom, a few heads turn to look at the door and the new arrival. The lighter brunet enters the classroom and he sees Gally at the back of the room, writing something down but turns his head towards his direction. He waves -more like moving his fingers- at the dirty blonde, who waves back. He approaches the teacher and gives him the note. The teacher reads it and nods,

"Okay, take a seat, please." he points at the rest of the class, maybe to a seat.

Aris nods at the teacher and turns his head to the class, trying to find an available seat. He found one, only to discover a familiar face beside it: his ex-boyfriend Dan. Shit. Unfortunately there wasn't any other seat, so he had to keep his head up as he walked towards the seat. He didn't even spared a glance at the dark-haired boy. Putting his satchel on the ground and taking out his stuff, his eyes were glued to the front of the class, where the teacher had his back to them while writing on the board.

With his notebook open and ready to copy what was on the board, Aris tried to ignore the look Dan was giving to him. While writing on his notebook, Dan smiled at him,

"So, are you pretending that I'm not here or...?"

Aris ignored him. 'You can't hit him in class. You can't hit him in class.'

The dark-haired boy leaned to his side so Aris could hear him,

"Miss me or did you found a new toy that can satisfy you already?"

Aris turns to look at him with a fake smile, "Wow, if only I could miss that mouth. Thank God it wasn't that good."

"If I remember well, my mouth used to make you scream in pleasure."

"I'm good actor, aren't I? Plus, I was dating you; I wanted to be a good person and spare your feelings."

Dan turns to look at the front, as if he was writing, "So you are that much of a slut, huh?"

Aris was doing the same, "Maybe, if you are that much of a jerk. There are better men than you."

"You mean like the blonde behind us?"

Aris frowns and glances from over his shoulder and looks at Gally, who is writing down on his notebook. Feeling his face heat in anger, he hits his desk with both his palms,

_"Don't you dare!"_

"Mr. Jones." they look at the teacher, who is turned towards them and waiting for an explanation, "Is there a problem?"

Dan raises his hand, "Yes, there is. He's bugging me."

"What?! I am not, you dickhead!"

"Mr. Jones!"

"He is one!"

"Sit down, Mr. Jones."

"What? You believe him just because he talked first? That's _bullshit_!" my God, he was furious!

The teacher didn't even spoke again. He just took out his bunch of detention card, writing down on one. Aris sighed -also he cursed in his head- and grabbed his stuff, putting them back into his satchel as Dan looked at him with a satisfied grin. Would he get in more trouble if he punched him?

Sulking, Aris walked towards the front of the class, all eyes on him, and took the detention card from the teacher, who gave him a disapproval look. While everything happened, Gally stood sit in his seat. He had heard a little bit of the conversation between Dan and Aris and he wanted to punch the guy. A part of him wanted to do something, but the other part told him to stay still and wait 'till the bell rings to talk to Aris.

Gally stood up as Aris walked towards the door. The sound of the chair caught the teacher's attention -as did to everyone, including Dan and Aris- and he turned to Gally,

"Oh, Mr. D'Amico, perhaps you'd like to share with the rest of the class Patrick Henry's immortal last words."

Aris stared back at him, watching what the other boy was going to do. Gally licked his lips and looked at the teacher, " _'Kiss my ass'_?"

Gasps and laughs were heard all over the classroom, some students covering their mouth to prevent themselves from laughing too hard. The teacher rolled his eyes and went to write another detention card. Dan growled under his breath, trying to act as if he wasn't mad. Gally looked at the lighter brunet over the door and found him smiling at him. Well, something good came from having detention.

 

* * *

 

Getting out of their class, Thomas and Newt walked together to their next class -although it wasn't a class they shared. The brunet kept thinking about the whole 'Minho and Teresa' thing. He felt it was his duty to do something about it. They were both his best friends and he wanted them to be happy. Turns out they would be happy with each other. Newt noticed his boyfriend walking with a frown on his face,

"Hey, you seem distracted. Is everything alright?"

Thomas snaps out of his trance, "Mm? Oh, yeah, yeah. It's nothing. I was just... thinking about the Geometry homework."

"Yeah, it was pretty heavy." but Thomas still has the same expression, "You sure you're okay? You can tell me anything, you know."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Really, I'm okay."

"Ok." he looks at the side, "This is my class. See you after the bell rings?"

Thomas nods, "Yeah, sure." the blonde gives him a small peck on the lips and enters his classroom. Thomas continues walking towards his destination -Chemistry class- when saw Brenda walking towards him with a box filled with office supplies; some cardstocks peeking out and threaten to fall out.

Once she raised her head, she noticed him and yep, now she's approaching him.

"Oh, hey, Thomas."

"Hi, Brenda." he sees all the things she has, "Need help?"

"Oh, no, no, thanks. I don't want to bother you-

One of the cardstocks from the box falls to the ground. The brunet girl tries to pick it up, but another one falls too.

Thomas picks them up, "Here, let me," and takes the box from her hands.

"Thanks. You are such a good guy." they start walking, supposedly where she was heading. As they made their way there, the brunet girl puts a strand of hair behind her ear and speaks up, "So, listen. I was thinking that maybe, if you're not busy after school that is, you would like to go and grab a coffee... and, well, maybe something else?" she batted her eyelashes to him.

Thomas almost lets the box slip from his grip, but he grips it tight, "Oh. Well, I'm flattered. Really, I am! But I'm... I'm seeing someone."

"Doesn't bother me if it doesn't bother you."

"N-No, I mean, I really care about him." Shit, this was awkward. But he needed to put this clear; he would never do anything to hurt Newt. Ever.

Brenda nods, "Oh. Okay." they reach the Art room, which Thomas thought -correctly- it was their destination. "Well, this is where we go separate ways." she opens the door and grabs the box from him, "Thanks for the help. And, sorry... if I crossed the line."

"No, no. It's..." _'fine'_? "alright."

She nods with a smile, "Okay. See you around, Thomas."

"Bye." he turns around and walks away, feeling watched as he walked. Was Brenda looking at him? But when he turns to see if it was true, the brunet girl was gone, the door closing behind her. _'Mm... Maybe it was my imagination.'_

He shrugs and shakes it off, and continues his way.

 

* * *

 

While at his last class, Minho was over his seat trying to write whatever the hell the teacher was writing on the board. Honestly, he wasn't paying attention to the class. His mind was wandering about the soft long raven hair from the person sitting in front of him. Different from him, Teresa was writing, her hair swinging as she moved to copy what was on the board. Looking around carefully to make sure no one was looking, he leaned forward and inhaled the scent of her shampoo. God, her hair still smelled as marvelous as always: a warm, rich and honey-like scent invaded his nose.

He continued to stare at the hair, his mind rambling about million things; but even in that state, he could hear a faint voice, but couldn't quite decipher it.

 

_"...Lee."_

Minho blinked a few times before the voice got clearer and he got out of his trance.

_"Mr. Lee!"_

Minho snapped out and realized that the teacher was now looking at him -as everyone else in the classroom- and that he had been calling his name.

"Mr. Lee. Are you paying attention?"

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir." he answered sheepishly.

The teacher just gave him a warning look before turning back to the board, continuing with his class. Everyone else also went back to their own work. Minho sighed and hunched over his desk.

_'That was close.'_

While the teacher wasn't watching, Teresa turned over her seat to face him with a worried look in her beautiful face.

"Hey. You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. 'm fine."

"You sure?"

He smiled, "Totally. I was daydreaming."

She smiled back. "Okay." and turned back to her place.

Minho sighed and decided to pay attention to the class now. Exams were getting closer, and he couldn't afford to fail any of them. God, have mercy.

 

* * *

 

After the classes came to an end, over the Art class the room was empty expect for Aris, who was sitting near the windows with his painting in front of him. He had ask the teacher if he could stay to finish his painting and he had been granted permission, so here he was. His satchel was over the floor near the door when Teresa entered the room.

She smiles at him as she approaches him, "Hey,"

"Hey. What are you still doing here? I thought you would leave early, like the rest of the class."

The raven girl lets her satchel touch the ground. "Well, I wanted to come by and see if you had plans for later."

"I'm afraid not. What did you had in mind?"

"Well, there's a movie I really want to see, and I told Newt and he's coming, so I wanted to know if you too. I still have to text Thomas but he probably will say yes."

He smiles, "Sure. As soon as my painting dries and pick up my stuff, I'll go to the apartment." he says nodding at his canvas.

Teresa's eyes go from the canvas -which she can't see- to him, "You're done?" the lighter brunet nods "Can I see?" he nods again. Teresa walks by his side and her eyes immediately go to the painting. She stays still, her eyes widen, "Wow. It's... It's beautiful."

"Really? You're not just saying that because you're my friend?"

"No, no. You know me. I call you on your shit whenever you deserve it and I'm not even sorry." the lighter brunet rolls his eyes with a smile, "But I'm being sincere here."

"Thanks. I really appreciate it."

Teresa smiles at him. She goes to touch the canvas –the dry parts-, pointing all the parts she liked when she caught a glance to her watch.

"Oh, shit. Gotta go. Work calls." she grabs her satchel and walks towards the door, "But see you at Minho's place later?"

"You bet."

"Ok. Bye." she waves at him and exits the room.

Aris stays alone in the classroom. He sighs and stands up, starting to pick everything -brushes, paint, tissues to clean his hands- up. It takes a few minutes to clean the room and his painting to dry, and while he's kneeling over the floor, he hears a knock on the door. Still kneeling, he turns around and sees Gally at the door.

"Hey."

"Hey," he gets up from the floor, "What are you still doing here?"

The tall blonde enters the room, "Nothing in particular. You?"

Aris walks over the utility locker and puts the stuff inside, "Had some stuff to do, and needed some time alone to do it." and walks back to his canvas.

The dirty blonde nods. They stay in silence without looking at each other, just looking around at the room.

"Thanks."

Gally turns and looks at the lighter brunet, who was looking at his painting before looking at him.

"...for what you did at class."

" _Oh_. Oh, it wasn't nothing."

"Yes, it was." they stare at each other and don't speak again.

Feeling the tension between them, Airs looks at his painting and he spreads his arms, then joining them to clap once. "I've finish." he says nodding at his paint.

Gally smiles, "What?"

"My paint. I've finish."

"Really? So now I can finally see? No more 'it's not ready, you can't see.'?"

"Yes."

Aris takes a step back so Gally can approach and see the canvas. The tall dirty blonde walks until he's standing in front of the painting -Aris steps away- and stares. It definitely wasn't something he was expecting.

It had several different colors, all painted in random moves, like someone had just grab the paint and splash it over the canvas. The blue mixed with the yellow, and also the purple with the black, and the red with green. Many, many colors. Gally stared at it, not sure what should he be staring at. _'Is it supposed to look like that? Or does it has a form?'_

Aris seems to notice his confusion, as he crosses his arms he says,

"It's you."

Gally looks at him and then back at the painting, scrunching his nose, "Not a likeness."

"It's how you make me feel, Gally."

The dirty blonde looks at him and then scratches the back of his head, "I'm sorry."

"No." he approaches his paint, "Like you, the paint doesn't even know what or why it is." he touches the canvas, "It's reluctant to take form... and yet creating an absolute, but incomprehensible attraction." he finishes saying that while looking at the dirty blonde.

Gally stays in his place, not moving an inch. He felt something move inside his chest, but he didn't knew what to say in this situation, just like the other day at the bathroom. He felt Aris' eyes on him and started feeling nervous.

"I, uh, I-I, uh, uh," he chuckles, "I'm, um, uh..."

"Are you always this articulate?" says Aris with a grin. He grabs his painting -putting a blanket over it first- and walks towards the door. "Care to accompany me quickly to Minho's apartment? I need to do something Thomas asked me to and I need a ride."

He shakes off his nervousness, "Sure."

Gally walks towards him, and looks at the satchel over the door. Before Aris even asks, he kneels and picks it up, hanging it over his shoulder next to his backpack. The lighter brunet smiles at him and they exit the classroom.

 

* * *

 

Minho was at his apartment alone. Today was his day off, and he wanted to spend it over his place chilling and watching TV or playing videogames. As he went to the kitchen for the bag of chips that he had bought on his way back he heard a knock on his door.

_"It's me. Thomas!"_

"It's open!"

The door opens and Thomas enters the apartment, leaving the door open as he makes his way to the living room, watching as Minho came out of the kitchen with a bag of chips on hand.

"Hey, you came just in time. I was about to 'chill and Netflix' with this bag of chips and Dr. Peppers. So why don't you and I spend the rest of the afternoon over the couch until our butts glue to it, ha?"

Thomas smiles at him, scratching his neck, "I, uh, I would really like that, Min. But I'm afraid it'll have to wait."

Minho sees the look in his friend's face and he sits on the couch, the bag over the coffee table. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, just..." Thomas sits too, in front of him. He licks his lips, "We need to talk."

"Sure, bro. About what?"

"Teresa."

Minho doesn't move for like 5 seconds. He blinks a few times before he responds, "You know what? I'm actually kind of busy, so right now it's not a good time." he stands up and goes to the door, ready to leave.

"No, no, no. This time you're not getting out of this!" he whistles and before Minho can get to the entrance, the Asian male sees Aris standing outside smirking at him with a hand on the door.

"Later suckers." and with that he closes the door. Seconds later there's the distinct sound of keys and the lock on. Where the hell did Aris got keys to his apartment?

Minho stays still for a moment before he turns around to face Thomas,

"Should I be freaked out that you just locked me in my own apartment or...?"

"Min, please. Come sit with me."

"Nope."

"Minho, I'm serious."

"So am I." he walks towards the kitchen, Thomas following. He goes to the fridge and takes out two cool silver spoons; he puts them under his eyes, relaxing at the coolness. Thomas raises an eyebrow at him, "...My mom taught me this. It calms me down."

"Okay." he sits on one of the stools, facing Minho on the other side of the counter. "Minho. We really need to talk about it."

"Talk about what?"

"...You know."

"No, I don't."

"Teresa... and you."

"What about Teresa and me?"

"Do you really want me to say it out loud?"

Minho doesn't move. He knows what Thomas means: he knows. So why should he fake ignorance on the topic?

"It's none of your business."

"Of course it is! Because I'm your friend! You're my best friend. And so is Teresa."

"Shouldn't you be freaking out?!"

Thomas blinks, "What?"

"Whatever this is, what is happening, shouldn't you be..." he shrugs, "I don't know."

" _THAT'S_ what worries you?!" he facepalms, "Minho. You're both my best friends, how can I not support you?"

_"Because..."_ he pauses for a moment, "It's weird."

"'Weird'?"

Minho puts the spoons down on the counter, and exits the kitchen. Thomas follows him with his eyes but doesn't move from his spot. The Asian male goes to the couch and sits on it, arms resting over his tights.

"It's just..." he exhales, "I don't know, man. It's happening so fast. I-I wasn't even ready..."

"Nobody is."

Minho looks at him, "Yeah. When you met Newt it was as if you were hit by a train." the brunet chuckles. "But you knew it since then. You knew what you wanted."

"And you don't?"

Minho raises his head, looking for a moment at the ceiling while taking air. "I can't be near Teresa alone and have fun because I only think about Sonya. And I can't be with Sonya without feeling guilty about Teresa."

"Min," Thomas gets up from the stool and walks to the couch, sitting next to his friend, "How do you feel about Teresa? How is it when you are with her?"

"I, uh, I don't know..."

"Come on, Min." he nudges the raven guy. "Just... think of her, and analyze the feeling you get."

Minho takes air and lies so his back is over backrest of the couch, his face looking at the ceiling. He needed to take this off his chest. Doing what Thomas told him, he pictured the raven girl with stunning blue eyes.

"When I let a day go by without talking to her, that day it's just no good." he licks his lips, "I'm always... well, not always, but... spend much of the day thinking about her. And what is she doing, or where is she. Is she with someone? Is she having fun, or is she happy? And then I get kind of mad at the thought of someone else making her happy and smile. I know it's silly and childish, but it's the truth."

He puts an arm over his eyes, covering his sight and continues,

"The last weeks I haven't been able to concentrate in class. Whenever she sits near me, I just stare at her. God, the teachers have already started to call me out for being distracted." he chuckles. "And the worst thing is that I don't know what to do. Especially with Sonya. I do care about her a-and I don't want to hurt her.

He stays in silence, nothing more else to say, waiting for his best friend to say something. Anything. But nothing comes. Uncovering his eyes, he glances at the brunet and finds him staring back at him as if he were an interesting specimen.

He frowns, "What?"

"Dude... I think you're in love."

 

* * *

 

Two and a half hours had transcurred since they started talking and Minho and Thomas were still over the Asian's apartment. Minho was lying on his back over the floor near the kitchen counter, arms and legs sprawled over the floor and his eyes staring at the nothing. Thomas was sitting on the couch, looking at his friend on the floor and waiting for him to be ready to talk again. They did had a few troubles into getting Minho accept what he told him, but in the end the Asian male just stood up from the couch, said 'I love her' out loud and then laid down on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

Thomas stares at his friend, arms resting over his legs.

"So, are you gonna talk some more or can I go to the bathroom already?"

"Leave me alone, Thomas."

"Dude, it's alright. I think we're making progress here. It only took you 47 minutes-

_"50."_

"50 minutes to accept that you're in love with Teresa." he shrugs, "That's fine."

"Then why can't I get up from the floor?"

"I don't know. It's your body, you tell me."

Minho groans, closing his eyes for a moment. "What should I do?"

"Well, you could try and talk to Teresa-"

Minho turns his head to glare at him.

"-or maybe retaining liquids in my body has made me insane, so just ignore me and my mouth."

Minho sighs. He knows Thomas is right. Damn it.

"I don't know, Thomas. What should I tell her?"

"Hello, I love you, Won't you tell me your name?"

"I'm not going to ballad her to a _The Doors_ song."

Thomas chuckles. "Really, man. Whatever you tell her it's going to be fine. Just... trust your heart."

Minho thinks about it. Where's the harm in letting Teresa know about his feelings?

"I think you're right."

Thomas smiles, "Yeah!"

"Maybe I should try and talk to her. I mean, it's nothing abnormal, you know? I'll just take her to somewhere we can be alone and talk. Maybe somewhere nice and fancy, not that my wallet will handle it, but what the hell." he smiles to himself, "You know which place would be perfect? The Gilded Truffle. You know, where they serve you a small amount of choco-mint ice-cream and it's so delicious you will buy more?"

There's a knock on the door, so Thomas gets up from the couch and walks towards the door as Minho talks to himself. He turns his head to the raven boy on the floor.

_"Shh."_

But Minho continues, immersed in his thoughts, "Maybe I could order two portions of choco-mint ice-cream. That way we both will be satisfied."

_"Minho!"_

Minho sits on the floor, telling the other in a whispering,

_"You wanted me to talk!"_

Thomas rolls his eyes and opens the door, revealing his boyfriend on the other side.

He smiles, "Hi."

"Hi," Newt takes a step forward into the apartment, the door still open behind him. He gives Thomas a kiss on the lips and turns to where Minho was on the floor. He smiles and waves at him, not asking why he was on the floor. "Hey, Min."

Minho waves back at him from the floor. "Hey, what's up?"

"Oh, we just wanted to know if you wanted to go to the movies with us."

Thomas frowns, " _'We'_?"

In that moment, Teresa appears behind Newt, outside the apartment. She is putting her car keys inside her satchel.

Thomas' eyes widen and he on purpose yells "Teresa! Hi!" so the Asian male can hear.

Inside the apartment, Minho's eyes widen too and he gets up from the floor as fast as he could.

Teresa smiles at the brunet, "Hey, Tom."

"Wha-what are you doing here?"

"I asked her to pick me up." says Newt to his boyfriend.

"You could've asked me."

"I did, but you didn't answer your phone."

"Wha-?" he frowns, "Where's my phone?"

"Oh, dear, Tom. You'd lose your head if it wasn't attached to your shoulders." says Teresa with a smile as Newt chuckles.

As Thomas went to the living room in search for his phone, Teresa enters the apartment, standing beside Newt. That's when she sees Minho standing near the counter.

"Oh. Hi."

He smiles, "Hey." but when he sees the raven girl smile back, he feels his face heat and looks down at the ground. This doesn't go unnoticed by the raven girl.

"I'm sure I put it in here." said Thomas from the couch, looking in between the cushions. "Ooh, there it is!" he grabs it and shows it to Newt. "Here it is." he says sheepishly.

Newt smiles at his goofy boyfriend and walks towards him. Seconds later they all hear steps down the hall; they turn in time to see Aris and Gally appeared over the still open door.

"Oh, hey guys." Teresa says, "You made it."

The other two enter the apartment, and Aris is the one to speak first. "Why is everyone here? Was this the meeting point or something? Because you told me to be here and-"

"Yes, I told you to come here."

Aris turns to point at Minho and Thomas, "You're going to the movies too?"

Thomas shrugs, "Uh, sure, why not."

"Great!" said Aris with a clap, "The more the merrier. We can all go in one car. Gally's, to be specific." he nudges Gally, "You drive."

"Of course I drive. It's my truck."

"Of course you drive. You're the chauffeur."

Aris laughs when the dirty blonde passes a hand over his face, pushing him playfully to the side. He then walks to the door, followed by Gally as he yells _'Yay! We are all together! Let's go party!'_ , the dirty blonde rolling his eyes at him. Thomas grabs Newt's hand and walk towards the door; the brunet looks at his best friend and the other says,

"I'll just grab my phone and keys, you guys go ahead."

Thomas nods and with the Brit they also exit the apartment, leaving Minho and Teresa alone. Seconds pass and neither of them move. The raven girl looks over at Minho, who is looking at the ground. She felt him off since school, and she wanted to know what was wrong with him. She reaches for his arm, touching slightly to get his attention.

"You sure you're in the mood for a movie?"

"Yeah, yeah... 'm fine."

She reaches out again, this time her hand resting a little more time in his arm. "Come on." she smiles, "We can do anything else. We could stay here and play videogames. Or we could go to the karaoke. Or maybe even go to a bar. We're legal, remember?"

Minho grins, "Yeah, I do. But I don't think drinking would do any good."

"And who said anything about going to a bar for alcohol? I meant to move the booty!" she said while twirling her hips in a circular motion, making Minho grin more and even chuckling.

"Oh, you've got some moves."

"Yeah! And you haven't even seen half of them!" she says while raising both arms above her head and -while twirling her hips- she makes a turn, her back to the raven boy.

Minho continued to laugh more openly this time, bringing a hand to his mouth -not in an attempt to shush his laugh-. He felt completely grateful for her; he knew what she was doing: She was making a fool of herself to cheer him up. What kind of friend does that? A good one. Watching her shake her hips, moving her shoulders and chest in an attempt to shimmy, he couldn't stop the smile that was plastered on his face and the tingly feeling in his chest. The same feeling he gets whenever Teresa is around. Thomas was right. He had to tell her.

Minho keeps laughing with a smile over his face and before he can stop himself,

"You are so great! I love you!"

Teresa stops suddenly; Minho realizes what he said and his eyes widen. Shit. _Shit! This was not the time!_ Teresa turns around slowly, her hands in the air beside her body, mouth slightly open and something shining in her eyes, "What?"

"Nothing! I said-I said _'You're so great'_ and then I-I just stopped talking!"

They stare at each other, none of them moving or talking. They didn't knew what to do. Both their hearts were beating fast, even though the other didn't knew. Teresa felt her face heat and wasn't sure if Minho could tell. The Asian boy felt a knot on his throat and stomach. He wanted to say something; do something! But he couldn't even blink. They barely register the sound of steps and a voice calling for them.

"Hey guys, we are wait-" Newt stops when he sees them and somehow feels the tension -but doesn't know why is that-, "Is everything alright?"

Minho swallows hard and is the first one to speak,

"...Yeah. Wha- What were you saying?"

"That we were waiting for you two to go downstairs. The movie starts at 9, and Thomas and Aris want to buy popcorn and stuff, so we have to go now."

"Yeah. Sorry." he stares at Teresa, whose eyes seem to shine. He licks his lips, "We should go now." he says to no one in particular, passing beside Teresa and towards the door and Newt. He exits his apartment and walks down the hall.

Newt looks at him -more like at his back- and then at Teresa, who stays there looking at the nothing, her mind still processing what had just happen.

"Hey," she turns to him, "Is everything alright?"

"...Yeah. Yeah, we were just talking." she gives him a smile and puts a strand of hair behind her ear. "Let's go, shall we?"

Newt doesn't protest, -he'll ask Thomas later- and nods. Teresa walks towards the door and exits, waiting for the blonde in the middle of the hall. Newt grabs the knob, closing the door behind him and walking along the raven girl.

 

 

_"Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope." - Maya Angelou._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry not sorry. The only thing I'll say in my defense, is that you're gonna love the next chapter! :)


	43. What Would You Do If I Told You That I La, La, La, La, Loved You?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys! I was supposed to update this chapter on Friday, but something happened and I had my head somewhere else....  
> A few days ago my mom was diagnosed with COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and we all've been worrying about her and her health.  
> She's fine, they detected it just in time. I know you may think it's not a big deal/big disease like cancer or something like that, but my aunt has also COPD and she's in grade 4, and she has to use and carry a oxygen tank everywhere. So for me it's a big deal. Right now she's resting (she can't stop coughing and it hurts her), and my siblings and me are helping with everything we can, so that's my excuse for not been able to update.
> 
> Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

_Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote, "I hold it true, whate'er befall; I feel it, when I sorrow most; 'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."_

 

 

Over her apartment Teresa was sitting beside the window, looking out through the window at the sky as it rained. She was wearing a long comfy cream sweater and leggings, together with her fox slippers ([x](https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/c2/34/77/c234779dc2bc70e25754e35b0645b99f.jpg)). Still looking out the window, she yawned and rubbed her eyes. She felt tired. She hadn't been able to sleep well for the past three days... that were exactly the number of days since the gang had gone to watch a movie together and since Minho had said he 'loved her'. She knows he hadn't meant it like that. It's obvious. But it still hit her hard to hear those words and know that they weren't meant to be like she wanted them. For the past days she tried to keep her distance from Minho and trust her when she says it hadn't been easy, living just in front of him. It was driving her crazy! But she knew what she had to do.

_Coffee._

Aris always said that coffee solved it all, so she decided to get some. Getting up from her cushion, she walked to her kitchen and grabbed a mug. She then grabbed coffee and was going to grab her sugar but her sugar shaker was empty. Huffing, she thinks what should she do. She couldn't go out: one, it was raining; two, she didn't want to go out. Her only option was Minho.

Sighing, she grabs her mug, her keys and walks out of her apartment and towards next door, to Minho's apartment. She stands in front of the door for a couple of minutes before she decides to do it. Holding the mug closer to her chest, she holds out a hand and knocks on the door. She waits and hears _'Coming!'_ and some rustling, before the door opens, revealing a shirtless Minho in long black pants. Teresa can't help but to stare, before she shakes herself out of her trance.

"Hey... Um, do you have sugar?" she asks with a chuckle.

"Yeah. Sure, sure. Come in," he steps aside, letting her come inside and closing the door. They both walk towards the kitchen, the raven girl sitting over a stool as Minho went to the cabinets in search of the sugar. "So, in the mood for coffee?"

She looks at her mug, "Yeah, I just... didn't got too much sleep, so..."

"Why's that?"

"Oh, umm..." _lie!_ "Nervous, I guess. You know, we're about to graduate and then we'll enter college. It's just so surreal." _that was close._

"Yeah, I know what you mean." with that said, the Asian male turned around with the sugar shaker on hand, walking towards the counter and putting it down just in front of Teresa, "Here you go."

"I know! I'm going crazy with Chemistry!"

"Me too!"

They both laugh. Once they stop, they look at each other, neither of them moving. Teresa looks down at her mug, not knowing what to do now; Minho scratches the back of his head, looking around before his eyes settle back on Teresa. She looks back at him and they go back to stare at each other. Minho thinks this should really be the time where they talk, so just as he makes up his mind, there's a ringing, echoing on the apartment. He yells,

"That's my phone!" he realizes he just yelled, "I didn't needed to yell that!" he yells again.

Teresa smiles at him, her eyes held a glint of humor as Minho went to where his phone was, which was his room. She sat there while the Asian male was at his room, picking up at his phone; she hears his voice from inside,

_"Hello? Oh, hi, Sonya."_

She stops moving, her lips barely touching the mug. She hears as Minho talks to his girlfriend. His girlfriend. Girlfriend. What the heck was she doing here?

As Minho continued speaking with Sonya on his bedroom, Teresa decided she needed to go. Picking up her keys -which were on the counter- she stands up, mug in hand, and walks towards the door, stopping only to announce Minho she had to go.

"I'm leaving!" she called out. _'Not like you would care.'_

_"Ok, just wait a sec, will ya?"_ she heard him say to Sonya; there's footsteps and then Minho comes out of his room with the phone pressed against his chest, staring at Teresa.

The raven girl points at the door behind herself. "I need to go. Have stuff to do."

"Oh. Okay." he nods, "Well, see you later?"

Teresa nods, and opens the door, exiting as Minho continues his talk with Sonya. She stays two hours looking out of the window, even though it stopped raining minutes after she came back.

 

* * *

 

Over Gally's house, Thomas and Newt were both picking up their books and notes from the dining room's table. They had decided to meet at the dirty blonde's house to study, that was two hours ago. Gally said he had to do his chores, so they couldn't stay much longer. Getting their things ready, Gally had gone upstairs in look for something, leaving Thomas and Newt alone.

"You have everything?" asked the brunet.

"Yeah."

"Want to come over to my house? Watch a movie or something?"

"Sure, just let me tell my mom." with that he took out his cellphone, texting his mother.

Moments later Gally came downstairs, "Have you guys seen my phone?"

"No."

Gally groans. "Great. I think I left it in my car. I'll-

The house phone started ringing, making Gally turn his head to the kitchen. He grabs his car keys from the table and turns to Thomas, "Hey, can you two do me a favor and go search in the car for my phone?" he asks, throwing at Thomas his car keys.

"Sure."

Both Newt and Thomas walk out of the house while Gally goes to pick up the phone. Once outside the house, they walk towards Gally's car. Thomas opens the driver's door and sits on the leather seat, moving his body to the left and searching through the stuff over the co-pilot's seat. Gally had too much trash in his car, Thomas thought; crumpled paper balls, an empty Dr. Pepper can, tissues and other stuff. Shaking his thoughts away, he moves to the glove compartment, opening it and searching there instead.

"It has to be here." he mutters to himself.

Newt rolls his eyes, stepping closer, "Move over, Tommy."

He enters the car, sliding over Thomas' lap to get a better look inside the car. Thomas just holds his hands up like a kid, rolling his eyes as his boyfriend does what he was doing seconds ago.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me."

"I'm not! Wait- how can you see?"

Newt points at the wing mirror. He huffs and continues searching through the glovebox but doesn't find the cellphone. Newt puts a strand of hair behind his ear, straightening himself,

"Well, it's not here. Gally was wrong."

As he finishes saying that he sits down on Thomas' lap, not really noticing their positions. He stays like that for a couple of seconds before he turns his head to Thomas' way. The brunet also turns to look at him, and then they notice their close proximity; looking into each other's eyes.

"Hey, there." says Thomas.

Newt smiles, "Hey, stranger."

Smiling at each other, they lean forward to start kissing. What started as a simple kiss turned into a make-out session in Gally's car. Newt was cupping the brunet's face as they kissed, and Thomas' hands were over his back, moving up and down. The Brit didn't lose time, and soon his hands were tugging at the back of Thomas' shirt, taking the brunet's shirt off, and throwing it over the co-pilot seat. He grinned and continued kissing his boyfriend. Thomas separated a little, nibbling the blonde's neck as his hands sneaked to the front of the blonde's jeans, undoing them.

As they continued to devour each other, their... rigorous activities made the seat brackets jump, which in result made the seat move backwards in a second. The sudden move startled Thomas, who in turn knocked Newt off balance, causing him to fall backwards and straight onto the horn. The loud blare of the car horn made them both jump. They sit there without moving, their hearts beating so fast they could probably hear them.

"Are you ok?" Thomas asked with a pant.

"I'm fine. Are _you_ ok?"

Thomas nodded. They stood still for almost a minute before they both burst out laughing, almost tearing up. Thomas pulled Newt back up flush to his chest, and the blonde buried his face in the crook of Thomas' neck.

As the laughter died, and they caught their breath, Newt was the first to talk, separating a little -though still over Thomas' lap-,

"We're a pair of idiots." he says with a chuckle.

"Yeah, but I'm glad we are a pair."

Newt smiles at the brunet and gives him a peck on the lips just when they hear another voice -Gally's- approaching them,

"Hey, guys. What the hell was- _OH NO! NO, NO, NO!_ " the tall dirty blonde covers his eyes, _"WHAT THE HELL, GUYS?!"_ he was referring to their current state of being shirtless and disheveled.

"Sorry!"

Still covering his eyes, the older one said "That's my car!"

"Dude, I swear we weren't-

_"Just...!"_ he looks at them and then closes his eyes, "Get out of my car before I throw up and ruin the upholstery!"

Thomas and Newt laugh at their friend, who was walking back inside his house while covering his eyes, making incoherent noises.

 

* * *

 

After leaving Gally's, Thomas and Newt went to the brunet's house to spend the afternoon. Stiles was out for groceries and Derek was at work, so they were gonna be alone. But they learned from their last time alone and decided not to do anything if they knew Thomas' dads weren't going to be gone for a long period. So right now was just gonna be them, the couch and a movie on Thomas' laptop. As the brunet connected his laptop and Newt arranged the couch with pillows and a blanket, the blonde glanced at his boyfriend and something that has been on his mind popped out.

"Tommy, can I ask you a question?"

Thomas turned to him, "Anything."

"Well, you see." he puts a strand of hair away, "The other day, when we all went to the movies, and you guys all left except for Teresa and Minho-" Thomas stills, "They were slow, so I went up to get them and I thought... I don't know. That something was going on there."

"G-going on? Going- like what?"

"I don't know. Like if they were fighting, but at the same time like if they had... just confessed something. It was so weird."

"Well, I don't know anything." he laughs nervously.

The blonde puts his hand on his chin as he thinks, "But I'm sure there was some tension. I even tried to ask Aris and he told me to ask you."

"W-well, no. No, no. Nope. Don't know anything about that."

Newt gave him a leering look, like he was suspecting the brunet. "You sure you don't know anything?"

"N-no."

" _'No'_ as in you are not sure or _'No'_ as in you don't know?"

Thomas stays still, his heart was beating fast but he didn't knew where to go. This was his goddamn house! "What was the first one?"

Newt stays staring at his boyfriend, watching his reactions. 'Why did he looked so nervous? Like he was hiding something; something that it seems no one can know. But wha-' He gasps in realization. "Oh my god." he covers his mouth, still looking at Thomas, "Are they...?" he makes a move with his eyes, which the brunet understands.

Thomas' eyes widen, "No! No, no, no. No."

"I was gonna say 'in love'."

"Oh. Then yeah."

Newt covers his mouth again, "Oh my god, Tommy. Is this for real?"

"You can't tell anyone! Especially them!"

"Who do you think I am?! I won't say anything unless they want me to." he looks surprised at the new revelation. He stays standing still for a moment before he looks at his boyfriend. "So what are they gonna do?"

"No idea."

"And what about Sonya? I'm bloody sure Minho isn't going to cheat on her."

"No idea."

"And if they do something stupid and then-

"Newt, what part of _'no idea'_ you didn't get?"

Newt sighs, sitting on the couch, "It's just... They are our friends. I want them to be happy, but I don't want them to get hurt. What can we do?"

Thomas goes and sits beside the blonde, grabbing his hands, "Hope that they figure it out and that they will do the right thing."

The Brit cuddles against him, his head resting on over Thomas' chest, and the brunet's arm around his shoulder, massaging his back. The only thing they could do was wait and see.

 

* * *

 

The next day at school right after second period, Thomas went straight to his locker for one book he forgot. Minho had mocked him that how could he forget something as big as that book, that jerk. Just a couple of steps away from his locker he could see something white over it, and once he was close enough he saw it was a note. Grabbing the note and unfolding it, he reads it:

**_'Meet me in the janitor's closet. You know who.'_ **

Thomas frowns. _'Newt?'_ he looks around but doesn't find the blonde around. _'...Okay.'_ he folds the note into his jeans and walks to where the closet is. Why had Newt left him a note? And why did he wanted him to meet on the janitor's closet?'

Not taking a minute to judge his boyfriend's actions, he folds the note into his jeans and walks to where the closet is. Once he reaches it, he stays there for almost a minute. He softly knocks on the door but nothing happens. That's weird. Just as he's about to turn around and leave, the door unlocks, so Thomas decides to go inside. But just as he opens the door and enters the closet, a pair of hands grab him by the shirt, pulling him in and closing the door behind him. Thomas doesn't have time to react before a pair of soft lips are over his, kissing him. Thomas closed his eyes and his hands quickly went to Newt's waits, holding him.

The room was pitch black and Thomas couldn't see anything but he had his hands glued to the blonde's body, so he just had to roam them over his body. His lips were smacking against the other pair; he felt a little tug at his upper lip and he had to control the urge to press against his boyfriend's body, but that doesn't mean he can't do something else. Newt's hands were cupping his face, keeping him in place to kiss. Thomas decided that he could too have his fun, so moving his hand, he went to caress Newt's chest and his neck; but as his hands are traveling over his chest, he feels... something unusual. Something that wasn't supposed to be there. Something round and soft-

_'Wait a minute.'_

Thomas separated from those lips, taking a step back. His hand went to the wall where the light switch was; once he found it, he pushed the button and the room illuminated. He blinked several times because the flashing, but once his eyes got used to the light, he saw a girl almost his height, long brown hair and that was looking at him as if he was food.

"Brenda?!"

The brunet girl smiled, "Surprise, hot stuff."

"Wha-what- What are you doing here?!" with his back still to the door, his hand went searching for the knob in an attempt to open the door and get the hell out of there. "I-I thought-

"I know what you thought." she grins, "Did you liked it?"

"No! I told you I have a boyfriend."

"So?"

" _'So?'_? So, I like my boyfriend."

"You're so good for this world. Come on, have a little fun." she went to cup his face again.

"No!"

He managed to find the knob and open the door, which results in him falling backwards over his back. He quickly incorporates to his feet as Brenda exits the closet.

"You okay?"

"Gotta go!"

And with that Thomas runs, his backpack almost falling in his hurry. He managed to get to his class in time and sat in his seat. When Minho saw him a little distracted and asked what happened, he didn't answered. He just tried to concentrate in class.

 

* * *

 

Aris was walking towards his locker. He had a free period (teacher sick, ha!) so he decided to go for his stuff and go to the library and study a little. Once he's standing in front of his locker, he opens it and starts taking his books out, when a figure appears behind him. He feels the heat of their body close to his and a tingle in his neck. Knowing who it is, he just ignores him and continues staring into his locker. But the person behind him doesn't like being ignored.

"It's not nice ignoring people, Aris." said Dan from behind him.

"Well, it's not nice hitting people, but that doesn't seem to bother you." he closes his locker and starts walking away, but unfortunately Dan follows.

"Come on, Aris. When is this _'I'm better off without you'_ cold act gonna end? I mean, I know I'm not perfect, everybody makes mistakes. But I don't deserve the way you've been acting towards me."

"And how am I exactly acting?"

"Cold, divert, rude..."

"Just like when we were having sex."

" _See?!_ That's what I'm talking about!"

They turn around the corner, reaching for the library; they enter, although Aris doesn't want the other to follow him. The library is almost empty, but he doesn't want to disturb anyone, so he walks to the back part.

Still walking along the aisles, Aris doesn't turn around to meet the other's eyes. "And what exactly do you want, huh?"

"I'm so glad you ask." Dan smirks and takes out from inside his pocket a paper and a pen, "I think I at least deserve an apology."

Aris stops in his tracks.

_'Does this asshole just asked for what I think he asked? Who he thinks he- Breathe, Aris. Just give him what he wants and he'll leave you alone.'_

The lighter brunet turns around to face his ex-boyfriend, "Fine."

"Great."

Aris looks at the paper and back at Dan, taking a couple of seconds before understanding what he meant. He blinks flabbergasted. "You want it in writing?"

"Sure. I don't want you to accidentally forget about it."

Aris stares at his ex-boyfriend before letting out a sigh and taking the piece of paper and pen. He bites his lip and starts writing, the paper pressed against the books on the shelf. Dan just looks as he write and Aris can practically feel the proud oozing from him. He finishes and takes a step aside, holding the paper to the dark haired guy.

Dan grabs the note and reads it with a grin, only for that grin to disappear. "That's not an apology."

Aris looks at the note, "No, it's more of a suggestion. _'The horse you rode in on'_ is optional."

"Now, look-

"No, you look." the other shuts up, "I've had enough. I don't deserve this, okay? I trusted you, Dan. I trusted you and what did you do? You hit me. You cheated. You were never supporting about my stuff. And you are saying that _I'm_ the one who is being unfair?!" he takes air, "Yeah, I am unfair. But you know what? Someday, I just might grow out of that. But you? You will never stop being a jerk. And you want me to tell you something else? I'm so much happy being alone than when I was dating you."

Dan seems like he's going to explode. He takes a step forward, ready to yell or even hit the lighter brunet but like a knight in shining armor appears just in time to rescue the damsel, Gally appeared just in time, standing beside Aris in a protective way.

Dan frowned, "Dude, you have a problem?"

"Dude, step off."

Dan takes a step forward, " _Dude_ , I will beat you down!"

And so does the dirty blonde, " _Dude_ , I'll beat the _dude_ out of you!"

Dan shoves Gally into the bookshelves hard, making some books fall to the ground; his hands fisting his jacket, "Do not mess with me!"

And that's when Aris' had it, so he pulls Dan away from the dirty blonde, screaming, "You have to stop this!"

Everything stays in silence. Thank God it was a library. Dan pants, looking between the two of them before huffing, dusting his jacket and walking away. That leaves Gally and Aris alone. The dirty blonde speaks first,

"Well, someone needs an attitude adjustment." he shrugs it off. "Anyway... Now that _Mister douchebag_ has left the building, and that right now I feel like I have the balls to actually do it, I'm gonna do this quick before I regret it." he looks at Aris, "but would you like to go out with me sometime? Like tomorrow? Are you free? Breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? All of the above?"

Over Aris' face, a smile threatens to come out, so the lighter brunet looks at the ground. He can still feel Gally's eyes on him, so he knows he has to answer. But he tries to act nonchalantly.

"Yeah. I mean, if I don't have anything to do..." he looks around, "Sure. I'm free."

Gally grins, "Nice. But I gotta tell you that now that I have these 5 minutes of new found bravery I'm gonna make all the decisions. We'll go in my car, which I'll drive, go to the place I want, we're gonna order pizza, some onion rings and french fries you adore, and we'll go to my house to watch a movie using Alby's Netflix account and maybe play some videogames." he shrugs like he's sorry for the other guy, "So, you're gonna have to suck it. And I know how much you like that."

Aris chuckles, shaking his head. He smiles at Gally, giving him his hand, "Jerk."

Gally brings it to his lips and softly kisses it, "Sissy."

 

* * *

 

On his way to his next class, Minho was on his phone texting to Thomas, who was at the classroom on the other side of school. He had noticed the brunet distracted on the last two classes, but Thomas said he was fine so he decided not to push it. As he's walking along the hall, he sees the raven blue eyed girl walking towards him, but she doesn't seem to have noticed him. It had been so strange that in all day they haven't meet nor once, so he decided to talk to her.

Minho smiles and waves at her, "Good morning, Teresa."

"Good morning." she says as she passed beside him, not looking him at the face.

"Pump your brakes." Teresa stops. She turns to look at the Asian male, who points at her and then to come towards him. She does so, "Every day I say _'Good morning'_ , you say _'I'll show you a good morning.'_ " she bites her lips, "Every day since we met. Now, what's wrong?"

She looks down and shrugs, "Nothing."

"No, don't _'nothing'_ me." he notices she's looking at the ground, "Hey, look at me." she does. "Is it me or are you ignoring me?"

The raven girl chuckles, "What?"

"It's just... I get the feeling that you are ignoring me... Since a few days ago. Does it have to do anything of what I said at my place?"

"What- oh, _that_. No. No, not at all."

"You sure?"

"I mean, yes, it was kind of awkward, but I know you didn't mean it like that."

"What if I mean it like that?"

Teresa stops. Everything stops. She thinks for a moment that she heard wrong or that she misunderstood, so slowly she looks at the Asian male. He was standing firm, staring right back at her without hesitation in his eyes. Teresa opened her mouth, but not to say something. Her mouth opened itself in awe and surprise of the raven guy's words.

_'Does it mean...? Does it mean that he...'_

She feels her eyes sting and getting glassy, but she promised herself not to cry in front of Minho. She was pretty sure her lip was trembling, but she couldn't stop it. Minho took a step forward, opening his mouth, ready to say something and the bell rang.

There's some relief in Teresa's face, but also longing. She rubs her eyes, "Well, this is where I turn back into a pumpkin. See you later, okay?"

With that she starts walking away again, but this time Minho doesn't stop her. He stays in his place, thinking what should he do. Looking at his phone still on hand, he texts Thomas,

**_'Can you come over to my place after school?'_ **

His answer came back just before he entered his next class,

**_'Sure. Just have to accompany Newt somewhere and then I'll go.' -Thomas._ **

 

* * *

 

At the coffee shop, Thomas and Newt are sitting in one of the tables while talking. They are so immersed in their conversation that they don't notice the person approaching them until their standing beside them.

_"Hey, guys!"_

They both look up and find Brenda smiling at them, a coffee on her hand. Thomas gulps.

"It's so crazy. I'm sitting over there checking out this guy and all of a sudden I'm, like, 'Wait _a second, I know those moles.'_ " without an invitation or even asking, she slithers into the empty seat in front of them and puts her coffee down, "So how you guys been doing? Tired with all the exams?"

Thomas stutters, "Uh, yeah. Yeah, but who isn't, right?"

"You're so right!" she laughs, "Maybe after the exams are over we should all make a party or something! To celebrate, don't you think?" she looks at Newt, "Oh, Newt. Maybe you could be the designated driver. You know, so there isn't any accidents." she says with a smirk like if she hadn't said something offensive.

Newt just smiles back, not saying anything. Thomas feels awkward in the middle, so he clears his throat,

"Uh, I need another coffee. Be right back."

With that, Thomas stands up and leaves the table, leaving Brenda and Newt alone. It's only after he's out of hearing range and standing in the ordering line that Newt turns to the girl with a neutral face,

"I don't like you."

Brenda smirks, like she didn't saw it coming but it didn't bother her. "Fun... I don't like you either."

"I don't like the way you talk to my boyfriend. I don't like your smirky little meerkat face. I don't like your tight-almost-painted-on clothes. I'm onto you."

"Let's get a few things straight; Thomas' too good for you. Your little gang is a joke. And one of us has a hard-luck case of the 'perpetual stereotype' and it ain't me." she puts away a strand of hair, "Odds are by the end of the school year, I'll have Thomas and the valedictorian speech, and you'll have a Beacon Hills coffee apron and that perpetual stereotype" she says the last part with an accent.

Newt laughs, seeming genuinely amused as he says "You smell like Craigslist." he says with a smirk over his face, making the girl glare at him, trying not to show how affected she was.

In that moment Thomas comes back with a new coffee and sits down,

"What are you guys talking about?" he asks, really not noticing the tension.

Brenda smiles at him, "Oh, nothing special. Just that next time we should all go out drinkin'." she lies, laughing. "Well, I gotta run." she stands up, coffee in hand. "See ya." and turns around and leaves.

After the girl leaves, Thomas can finally relax, but it doesn't seem to be the Brit's case. Thomas looks at the blonde beside him and notices that Newt seems to be raiding with fury and something else. Suddenly, the blonde stands up, grabbing Thomas' hand and tugging him up to his feet.

"Come on, let's go." he says as he starts walking.

"Wait, where are we going? I haven't finished my coffee." Thomas says looking at their table and his coffee there.

The only answer he has is a simply,

"Let's go have sex."

Thomas blinks, "Wha- but I- Okay." he doesn't argue and follows his boyfriend out of the coffee shop, leaving his brand new coffee over the table.

 

* * *

 

Minho was walking around his apartment, preparing his couch for when Thomas arrived and they could relax with some movie or videogames. He went to his kitchen where the pizza was over the counter, and grabbed a bowl and the bag of chips. He opened it and poured some into the bowl; there was a knock on his door, so putting the bowl down he went towards it, opening the door to Thomas with a smile,

"Hey," his smile falls, "You're late." and walks to his kitchen.

Thomas enters the apartment, closing the door behind. "Sorry. Had an emergency." he cleared his throat.

"Well, that doesn't matter. What matters is-" he grabs two chips bags, "Doritos spicy sweet chili or Lay's barbecue?"

Thomas shrugs, "Why not both?"

"You're my spiritual animal." with that, the Asian male grabs an empty bowl and walks towards the living room with the two bags. "Grab the pizza, I'll grab the coke."

Thomas walks towards the counter and picks up the pizza box as Minho opens the fridge. He grabs two cans of Dr. Pepper and walks to the couch again.

"So you wanna Youtube and chill?"

Thomas frowns, " _Youtube_?"

"I'm on a budget."

Thomas rolls his eyes but follows his friend to the living room. He puts the pizza down on the coffee table and picks up a Dr. Pepper can. That's how they spent three and a half hours playing videogames and watching a movie. After the movie came to an end (who said Friday the 13th is a bad movie to watch if it's not Halloween season?), Thomas turned to his best friend and stared at him. Minho was staring at the TV screen as the credits rolled. He had a bowl of chips over his lap and his feet were resting over the coffee table.

"So, are you going to tell me why did you invited me so sudden? I mean, don't get me wrong, I love spending time with you, but it seemed to me that you wanted to talk."

Minho nods, putting the bowl away from his lap and over the coffee table. "I think I'm going to do something big but I need to know that it is the best choice."

"Oh no. Don't tell me you're going to choose between Sonya and Teresa."

"There's no need; I already did."

The brunet blinks a few times. "You mean..."

Minho smiles sheepishly, "Yeah."

Thomas smiles, _"Dude,"_

"I know. I just- I just told her and she stood still, like she didn't knew how to react."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"...I'm going to break up with Sonya."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I mean, I want to be with Teresa, but I can't if I'm still with Sonya. That would be wrong. Sonya doesn't deserves that. She at least deserves an explanation." he gets up, grabbing his car keys, "I have to do this."

Thomas smiles at his friend, seeing the determination in his eyes. He just hoped everything would work out. Minho nods to himself, grabs his coat from a stool on the counter and walks to the door. Just as he's opening it, ready to leave, Thomas yells

"Go, buddy. And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

And with that Minho left.

 

* * *

 

Minho parks his car outside of the big blue house that belonged to Sonya's parents. He didn't saw her parent's car, so maybe that meant she was alone. Good; it would be better that way. Getting out of his car, he made his way towards the threshold; once he was standing in front of the door, he took a moment. He breathes out and relaxed. He could do this. He had to. Slowly but with decision, he brings his hand to the wooden door and knocks.

He hears a _'Hold a sec!'_ coming from inside the house, belonging to Sonya. He swallows hard. Moments later the door opens and Sonya is standing there, smiling at the raven guy,

"Hey," she moves aside to let him enter, "I wasn't expecting you here." he enters and she closes the door. They walk towards the living room, "Are you hungry? I think there's pasta on the fridge, I can cook it if you want some."

"Are your parents home?"

"No, they went out. They won't come back in a couple of hours. Why?"

Minho looks at his feet, hands still in his pockets, "Sonya... I, uh... We have to talk."

She smiles, "Okay. Talk."

"No. Not that kind of... _talk_."

She stares at him, not understanding what he meant. He was still looking at the floor when it hit her, _"Oh."_ she whispered, " _That_ kind of talk, huh." she approaches the couch and manages to sit. She motions Minho to do the same, "So... Talk."

Minho at in the couch, but didn't knew where to begin. He hadn't really prepared a speech or something; he thought that once there, the words would sprout of his mouth. Sonya stared at him, not making any move until she looks at her hands and in a calm voice says,

"Is this about your feeling for Teresa?"

Minho looks up at her, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights. She saw his reaction and explained,

"I know it."

"Nothing has happened, I swear!"

"I know."

"Then how did you-

"I have eyes, Minho." she sighs, like if she was tired and had to let it go. "At first I thought she acted like that because, well, you are handsome and funny, and you are a great guy. But then the way she looked at you changed. And... so did the way you looked at her." she licks her lips, "She never said anything and neither did you. I think it was because at first she didn't even knew how she was feeling. And you were with me, so you thought you couldn't develop feelings for someone else if you were already in a relationship."

"I don't know how it happened. W-we were doing good."

"Really? We haven't had sex in two months. I'm not saying that relationships are based just in sex or anything like that. But..."

He nods, "Yeah, I get it."

They were both with glassy eyes and both had a knot in their throats they could hide. It pained Minho because it's not that he doesn't love Sonya. He does. But he loves her more like a sister than like a girlfriend, and he's sure that she's the same.

"I want you to know that, um, you don't have to feel bad... you know, about my feelings. I also noticed something changed in me. I'm also doing this because we both deserve to be happy, right?" her voice started sounding scratchy. She gently rubbed one eye with the heel of her hand and continued, "But the important thing... the important thing is that I care about you; I want you to be happy. Even if it's not with me."

Minho looks up at the ceiling, eyes red and tears falling from his eyes. He shuts his eyes close as he says "I'm sorry... I'm _so_ sorry,"

Sonya approaches him on the other couch, "No, you don't have to be sorry. Hey," she cups his face, "This... you can't help how you feel and neither can I. You didn't do anything wrong. You were mature enough to come here and talk about this. To don't do something stupid like cheating,"

"I would never hurt someone I care about."

"I know." she said smiling with tears damping her cheeks, "Neither would I. That's why we are such a great team."

They both chuckle. Minho puts his hands over hers on his face and nods, like telling her he's fine. She let's go and takes a step back. Minho takes a moment to stop the tears, and take some air, but he still feels bumped.

Sonya tilts her head, "Come on. Smile, you doofus."

He does smiles at that.

"There you go. It wasn't so bad, right?"

"Talk for yourself, girl; I think my eyes are broken." they laugh, lightening the mood. After a moment of silence, Minho smiles awkwardly. "I guess I have to go now."

"Yeah, it would be bad if my parents arrive and see me crying and you still here."

Minho grins tiredly, "Yeah... No thanks."

They both walk towards the door, the blonde girl stopping a few steps away from it. They share a hug, the Asian male even kissing her forehead before advancing to the door. Minho reaches for the knob, but it that moment Sonya calls for him.

"Hey, Minho?"

He turns around. "Yeah?"

"One last thing?" he nods, so she continues, "Don't hurt her."

He smiles softly at her. "Good that."

And with a last look, he exits the house, closing the door softly. Sonya stays in the same place for almost 10 seconds before she walks to the window, moving away the drapes to be able to look through it. She sees as Minho walks to his car and the tears start coming out again, but this time lesser. The Asian male gets inside his car and starts the engine. Sonya paused to take a heavy breath, pressing the heels of her hands over her eyes. She let out a dry chuckle and sighed. As the car drove away, she smiled and sent a kiss through the window.

Who said breakups had to be all about yelling and hard feelings?

 

* * *

 

At Teresa's apartment, the raven girl was walking to the couch with a coffee for Aris and her Dr. Pepper on the other hand, and Aris was getting out of the bathroom. They had decided to stay in her place and watch some movies. The lighter brunet walks to the coffee table and picks up his mug, sitting down on the couch and taking a sip from it. His coffee needs some sugar, so he gets up from the couch and walks towards the kitchen. He opens the cabinet but doesn't find the sugar.

"Um, T?"

"Yes?" she turns around still sitting.

"Don't you have some sugar?"

She groans, "Oh, damn it. I forgot to go buy some after school."

"If you didn't had sugar then how did you made your coffee?"

"I asked- " she stops before she gets to finish her sentence, "a neighbor."

He raises an eyebrow, " _'A neighbor'_?"

"Yes."

"And what's his name, then?"

Teresa stares at him, lips pressing hard. "Ringo."

He puts a hand on his hip, eyebrows up, "Is his last name Starr?"

"No... McCartney."

Aris shakes his head, and Teresa moans, hiding her face in her palms.

"So you can go ask Minho for a cup of sugar but you can't have a decent conversation with him about important stuff? What's wrong with this generation?!"

"I can't, okay?! I can't!" she says pointing at the door. "What am I supposed to say? I will only make the ridicule!"

"He already admitted that he does like you! What's wrong with that?! Isn't that what you wanted?"

The blue eyed girl tries to speak but she seems to have trouble in formulating her words. She sighs, looking at the floor. Aris understands. There was still the whole 'Sonya and Minho are still together' problem. He nods at himself,

"Okay, I get it. It's complicated. But," the raven girl looks at him, "Teresa, you're going to have to face him sooner or later. I suggest sooner because my coffee is getting cold."

She rolls her eyes and huffs in defeat. He was right. She had to go and face him, not matter what the results would be.

 

* * *

 

Just on the opposite side of her apartment, over Minho's apartment, Thomas was texting Newt about what to do tomorrow when in that moment the door is heard and Minho enters the apartment with a melancholy look. After he closed the door and walked to the living room, Thomas spoke from the kitchen counter,

"Hey... so, how'd it go with Sonya?"

Minho walks towards the counter, "Actually, pretty well. Well, I mean... She cried. I cried. But at the end, we ended in good terms."

"That's cool. Right?"

"Yeah."

Thomas pats his back; in that instant, the door opens and Teresa enters the apartment,

"Hey, do you guys have..." she sees Minho and pauses, smiling softly, "...hi."

Minho smiles too, "Hi." Thomas looks at Teresa with a smile on his face.

Teresa notices Minho had his coat on, "Where you goin'?"

"I, uh, I just got back from, uh, from Sonya's." he says glancing back at Thomas, who grins.

Whoever, the dark-haired girl feels dejected, thinking something else, "Oh." she looks at her hands.

Minho -and Thomas- notice her tone and panic for a moment, "No, no, uh, it's not what you think. It's um... the other thing." Thomas nods, looking at Teresa while grinning like a dork and gesturing his head towards Minho.

Teresa frowns for a moment, "Well," she coughs, "what's the other thing, what do I think?"

Minho tries to explain it but he can't find the words. He gestures with his hands, and so does Thomas, trying to help him, "Well, uh-

"He broke up with Sonya!" said the brunet still grinning. Teresa looks at Minho as the Asian guy looks at his best friend, "Well, go hug her, for God's sakes!" said Thomas pushing him. Minho scratched his neck and went towards Teresa smiling.

"Really?" asks the raven girl.

He nods, "Really."

She sighs with a smile over her face as Minho leans and hugs her, his arms around her waist; she puts her arms around his shoulders, smiling happily as she breathes out _'oh my god'_.

Thomas stays in his place with a big smile on his face as he watches his two best friends finally together. Yeah, today was a good day.

 

 

_Thomas Kemp wrote, "Love feels no burden, thinks nothing of its trouble, attempts what is above its strength, pleads no excuse for impossibility, for it thinks all things are lawful for itself and all things are possible."_


	44. Hopelessly Devoted to You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, sorry, sorry!! A month with no updates! I'm so sorry! I had my head somewhere else (with my mom), and then I got busy with exams and I didn't found time for the chapter T.T  
> But now I'm back and I'm not going to leave this fic like this. I am going to finish it! I swear it!
> 
> And talking about coming to an end....
> 
> Ohmygod, guys! this fic has 4 chapters left!!! But don't be sad, because once this fic comes to an end, I'll start with the one with magic and werewolves. Remember I told you about it?  
> Well, anyway, I still have a little, tiny problem... What name do you think I should use for my next story?:
> 
> "Do You Believe in Magic?", "Spellbound", "Moon of Earth", "Being Human or Sort Of (Werewolf)", "Strange Things May Happen Here", "Deeply Spelled" or do you have any other name? You know, for a story with magic, supernatural elements and that stuff?

The gang were over the pizza parlor, sitting in three tables that they had to join so they could all fit. Thomas and Newt were sitting together and looking at each other while eating their slices of pizza. Teresa was telling Minho how her day at work had been and the raven guy was listening attentively, smiling as the blue eyed girl got excited while speaking. Gally was talking over the phone with his mother, telling her how the exams had been and stuff. Aris was beside him, trying to grab some of his onion rings while the other was at the phone. And finally, Ben was laughing at something Alby had told him, the dark skinned boy moving his arms above his head as he continued making his boyfriend laugh. They had decided to go and celebrate that the exams were finally over, -and that they could relax- and they were just two weeks away from graduation.

When the laugh is over, Minho stands up with his red cup in hand, clearing his throat.

"May I have your attention? I'd like to make an announcement."

"Dude, if you have to go, just go. Don't announce it." says Thomas teasingly. The rest of the gang chuckled.

Minho stared at his friend, "Ha ha, very funny. I'll try to remember say that in your funeral." the brunet shrugged. "Anyways, where was I? Ah. Newt," he turns to the blond Brit, who smiles at him, "I'd like to say 'Congratulations'. Not only because of your birthday, but because you're the first one in our gang that turns nineteen."

Gally frowns, "I'm nineteen."

"Oh, well, you're the sec-

"I'm nineteen too." interrupted Aris.

"Well, tha-

"I'm also nineteen." said Teresa.

"OKAY!" he yells exasperated, making his friends laugh, "You're just as ordinary as everyone else! Have a long life, whatever!"

Thomas raises his cup, "Cheers!"

_"Cheers!"_ they all raise their cups and drink from it.

"We can finally relax. The exams are over, we're gonna celebrate, and then there's two weeks 'till graduation." adds Aris.

Teresa raises her cup again, "Amen!"

They continued talking until Newt made his move to stand up, leaning towards Thomas' ear to say to him "I need to go to the bathroom." and then walking towards the restroom.

Once he crossed the door, Minho turned to the brunet, clapping his hands together.

"So? What's the plan? I'm thinking a food and snacks table, alcoholic beverages, balloons everywhere. Not too much, obvi. I'm not Scrooge McDuck."

Thomas frowns, "Plan? What for?"

" _'What for?'_? Seriously, bro. I don't know how Newt can manage you. For his surprise party."

_"Surprise party?!"_ yells Thomas surprised.

"Well, yell it a little higher! I don't think Newt heard you clearly!"

Thomas glances at the bathroom door and bows his head in embarrassment. "Sorry."

"Dude. It's your boyfriend's birthday. Yeah, sure, technically it was a week ago but _still_. His nineteenth birthday. We were all too busy with the exams that we couldn't even celebrate his birthday right. We have to make something for him!"

"But he said he didn't wanted something big." Minho stares at him like saying 'so?'. "So... maybe he doesn't really want a party."

"Don't be silly, Thomas. Everyone wants a big party."

"Maybe Newt doesn't."

Minho stares at his friend without blinking for five seconds, and then turns to his girlfriend. "Teresa?"

"Yeah?"

"If I ever tell you that I don't want a big party please kill me."

"Fast or slowly?"

Minho smiles at her, "I love you." Teresa just shrugs with a smile, like saying _'I know you do.'_

Thomas rolls his eyes. "Okay, okay. You win. Party it is."

"Yes!"

They see Newt exiting the bathroom and making his way back to the table. Minho leans forward and whispers,

"We talk later. My place in two hours."

Thomas mocks salutes him. "Yes, General."

Minho flips him and just as Newt sits back, he turns to talk to Gally. Newt sits back and smiles at his boyfriend.

"What did I miss?"

Thomas smiles back, "Oh, nothing at all."

After they finished eating they all left the pizza parlor and went different ways. Thomas still had an hour free until he's meeting at Minho's to plan Newt's birthday party. So he decided to go to Aunt Lydia's house to spend the hour. She was making cupcakes today. So, riding on his bike, he went Lydia's house. Once he arrived, he noticed that Uncle Peter's car wasn't parked near, so that means he must be at work. Walking towards the door, he knocked gently on the wood and waited. Seconds later he heard the strawberry blonde woman's voice coming from inside.

_"Can someone please open the door?"_

There was some rustling and then steps before the door was half open, revealing Aiden and Ethan staring at the brunet. They didn't move to let him in, or say 'hi' to him; they just stayed there.

"What is the password?" asked Ethan.

Thomas blinked twice. "What?"

"What is the password?"

Thomas didn't knew how to answer, so he shrugged. "Can I come in please?"

Aiden made a 'wrong answer' sound and before Thomas could do or say something he slammed the door close. Then he heard the lock on.

"Who was it?" asked Lydia's voice.

"Wrong house, mum."

Thomas huffs. _'Those little imps!'_

Thomas looked and Walked around the house to find an entrance way into the house. Meanwhile inside the house, Lydia was at the kitchen, making cupcakes over the oven. Malia was laying on the couch with her phone in hand, and the twins were near the kitchen counter laughing when out of nowhere Thomas climbs inside the house through the window, looking right at the kids.

"No door can stop me!"

_"Ahhh!"_ both twins ran towards the stairs and up to their room.

Malia grinned from the couch. Thomas walked towards the kitchen, "Hi, aunt Lydia."

"Hi, sweetheart. I knew you would come."

Malia propped herself on her elbows, "Of course he would come. You're making cupcakes; he can't help it."

Thomas looks at his cousin. "Well, you aren't any good either. I bet you're just lying there over the couch only to be closer to the kitchen."

Malia showed him his tongue and continued texting. When she wasn't looking, Thomas too took out his tongue at her. Lydia's phone rang, so he went to the counter and picked it up. She answered and seconds later she putted the phone away, turning to Thomas.

"I need to take this call. Thomas, could you watch over the oven? The cupcakes are almost ready."

"Sure."

"Thanks,"

And with that she walked upstairs and continued her conversation, leaving Thomas and Malia alone. The brunet boy walked around the couch until he faced it, looking around casually.

"So... How's everything going?"

Malia looked up from her phone, putting it face down on her chest. "Fine. College is hard. You better be prepared."

"I will. Any other good advice?"

"Yeah, never try to eat food you left out the night before. Especially if it is something that used to be in the cooler."

Thomas tries not to laugh, he just nods with a serious face. "I'll keep that in mind." he takes a moment before speaking again, "How are you and Parrish?"

Malia smiles, "Great."

"Yeah? Had they already taken him to the doctor in case you bite him and gave him rabies?" the girl gives him a look and rolls her eyes. "No, seriously. I'm happy for you." he smiles.

"I'm happy for you too."

They stay like that without saying another word. Soon, they both feel their faces burn, "...Okay, awkward moment. Quick, say something mean to lighten the mood!"

"You're such an ass."

"There you go."

They both laugh at that, and seconds later Lydia comes downstairs. She looks at them laughing.

"Hey, good thing that you are laughing and not at each other's throats." she says as she approaches the kitchen. Thomas and Malia look at each other and think 'if you knew', before Lydia gets the cupcakes out of the oven. Putting the tray over the counter and taking off one mitten, she smiles at the two teenagers. "So, who wants some cupcakes?"

 

* * *

 

At the raven girl's place, she and Aris were over the living room, sitting over the couch talking about stuff. Aris had told her how his and Gally's date had gone the other day, and she couldn't help but to be happy for her friend. Sure, he said it wasn't that big of a deal, but still. Teresa was the one currently talking,

"-And so I told my parents I wanted to live on my own when I go to college. You know, have my own apartment and all that. Like in here but with more liberties."

"Are you serious?" he smiles at her, "That's great, T."

She smiles, putting a hand over her hip, "Want to be my roommate?"

"You know I would never reject an alluring invitation like that one, but actually Gally and I were planning on searching something that we could both use... until we each found the right place."

"You want to share an apartment with Gally?" she then smirked and changed her tone with mischievous, "You want to share an apartment with Gally~"

Aris throws her a cushion, "Shush it."

"Aww, you blushed."

"I did not."

"You did. But it's okay."

Aris grabs another cushion and hugs it, "Yeah, it's just... We haven't decided on anything, you know? Like, if we are going to be together or something."

She shrugs, "Then ask."

" _'Then ask'_ , she says. As if it were that simple." he mumbles under his breath.

Aris stares at the cushion he was hugging and kept thinking about their whole conversation. Maybe Teresa was right. Maybe he just needed to get some courage and ask the tall blonde what the hell did he wanted. His heart skipped a beat after thinking about Gally. He pressed the pillow against his face. This sucked. Love sucked. But nobody said it was easy, right?

 

* * *

 

Minho was at the mall, shopping for stuff for the party. He already had the food and drinks, so all he needed were the decorations. Currently he was at the next party supplies store to get more balloons and colorful streamers when a hand touched his shoulder, making him turn around. He turned around with a streamer on hand and saw Sonya with a bag on her other hand. She smiled, waving his hand.

"Hi,"

"Hey," he moves his hand but there's a streamer wrapped around his wrist; he shakes his hand to drop it and turns back at the blonde girl, "I feel bad that you couldn't come to the pizza parlor."

"Yeah, but my little brother woke up with fever and I had to take care of him while my parents arrived."

"Oh, is he better?"

"Much better, but he has to stay in bed." she crosses her arms in front of her chest with a smile, "Sucks for him." she stays still for almost a whole minute before she speaks up again, "Well, I'll be going. Don't want to waste your time. You must have things to do."

Looking at the, he nods, "Yeah, I do."

"Bye, Min." she says waving at him.

"Bye."

Minho watches as the blond girl turns around and starts walking away. He feels a little... awkward would be the right word, but there's nothing to be awkward about. They ended in pretty good terms, and they are friends now, but he still feels as if he needed to do something to compensate. He makes a move to turn back to whatever he was holding moments ago before he turns and looks at Sonya's back and calls for her,

"Hey!" the girl stops and turns around, but doesn't walks towards him. "Umm, we're organizing a surprise party for Newt. You know, since his real birthday he had to spend it studying... Anyway, would you, maybe, if you like... you could come?"

Sonya walks back to him, "And you're asking me if I want to be there in such an awkward way because...?" Minho lets out a breath he didn't knew he was holding. They both chuckled. "So, what should I bring?"

"Besides your pretty face?" the blonde girl smiles at him, "Maybe some good ol' Dr. Pepper would be great. 8:40, okay?"

"Alright." she nods, "I'll see you at the party."

"Good."

Now he's the first to turn around but he changes his mind and turns back at her, "Actually... I'm pretty dumb with this matching the colors things. I don't want the whole place look gay or anything. Not that gay is a bad thing, you know I love Newt... Wait, that didn't came out right."

"Nervous, are we?" she asked with a smile.

"What, me? No..." he smiles, "Kind of. So, you'll help me?"

The blonde girl grabs the streamer he had dropped and examines it. "Okay, you are gonna need this kind of streamers and the ones that also have confetti. That way it'll be more party-y."

"And here I thought I knew it all." they continue to the next aisle.

 

* * *

 

At Newt's house, he and Thomas were over the blonde's room, lying over his bed; Newt was sitting with his back resting against the wall while Thomas had his head over Newt's lap and the blonde was playing with his hair. They had been talking for over two hours. Minutes later after talking about graduation and what's next, Thomas sits back on the bed and stretches his limbs. He stands up next and starts looking around the room. While sitting on the bed, Newt glances at his boyfriend, and speaks aloud.

"You know what I was thinking?"

Thomas turns to him and smiles, "No, but tell me."

"Well, I was thinking that maybe... we should all make a party. You know, since the exams are over and graduation is coming closer."

"Oh, yeah. You know, that's exactly what-

He cuts off himself before he manages to finish that sentence. He knows how it ends. _'Exactly what Brenda had said the other day, remember?'_ And Newt knew; he was there.

Oh, shit.

"That's exactly what _who_ said?" asked Newt, forcing a smile. Oh, he was so screwed.

"...Uh..."

_"Tommy."_

"Err, someone. I think on TV."

_"Thomas."_

"Is it hot in here or-

A hand touches his and Thomas yelps. He looks at Newt's hand for a moment and then at his face; he had a smile over it.

"Relax, Tommy. I know what you were gonna say and it's fine. I'm not that kind of boyfriend that gets jealous because you talked with someone else." 'Even if it was with a bitch like Brenda.' his mind thought.

"No, I know, I know. But I still think the party it's a great idea."

Newt smiles. Seconds later he looks at the sheets of his bed and starts playing with it, acting innocent.

"You know, my parents are going to be out for a couple of hours..." he says as he crawls closer to the brunet, a mischievous smile over his face, hoping Thomas gets his message and intentions.

Hopefully Thomas takes the hint and he grins, taking a step closer, "Oh, I like the sound of that."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Newt has Thomas standing between his legs and soon the blonde wraps his arms around his neck and they smile, inching closer to nuzzle each other.

 

* * *

 

At night over Teresa's apartment, the raven girl and the Asian male were sleeping over her bed; she wearing a black tank top and boy shorts, and he a black tank top and military sweatpants. After Thomas left his apartment, Minho went to Teresa's to spend some time and he had stayed the afternoon and spent the night, too tired to move back. While both are sleeping peacefully, there comes a knocking on the door that doesn't seem to stop.

_"Guys, come on! Open the door! It's me! Thomas!"_

Teresa opens her eyes, hearing the knocking on the door but doesn't move to get up. She slowly glances behind her at Minho to see if he's awake; in that instant, Minho opens his eyes and the raven girl closes hers, pretending to be asleep.

_"Minho! Come on, wake up! Teresa! Please!"_

Minho glances at his girlfriend without moving. He turns slightly to his side, acting as if he too were sleeping but he kept his eyes open. With a swift move of her arm and without moving from her actual position, Teresa nudges him.

_"Minho! I know you're in there! Your apartment is empty! Come on! I need to talk to you!"_

Minho starts snoring, clearly enough so the girl can hear him but not too loud for it to be fake. The knocking continued, and Teresa opened her eyes again. The Asian male closes his for a moment, but silently sighs in defeat, knowing the girl won't get up.

Minho barely glances at his girlfriend as he pushes the covers aside and gets up from bed,

"You better be naked when I get back."

"Done."

Walking to the door, Minho rubs his eyes and swears he's going to cut Thomas' hand once he opens the door. He turns on the hallway light and opens the door, revealing the disheveled brunet.

"Give me one good reason to not kill you and dump your body over the garbage disposal."

"I don't have a present for Newt's birthday." pants Thomas.

"...I'll go make coffee."

Thomas enters the apartment and Minho closes the door after him, both walking towards the kitchen. The brunet sits on one stool as Minho walks to his coffee machine and stars preparing everything. He takes out two mugs and puts one in front of Thomas.

"So, I really want to hear how come you don't have a present for your boyfriend and his birthday was like a week ago."

"I was busy! Busy with the exams, okay?!" Thomas brings a hand to his face, rubbing it. "Ugh! And I did gave him something."

"Sex doesn't count."

"No, it wasn't sex." he sighs, uncovering his face and looking at his best friend.

The machine beeps, letting Minho know that the coffee is ready. The Asian male turns around and goes to the machine, grabbing the coffee decanter while picking up his mug and pouring the hot liquid into it. Just as he's pouring, Thomas decides to open his mouth,

"It was a ring."

_"Holy sh-_

Minho almost pours the hot coffee all over his hand if not because he lets it fall over the floor, staining it. Better there than on his hand, right? He puts his mug down, then the coffee decanter on the counter before turning to Thomas with wide incredulous eyes.

"What the shit, Hale-

"No! It's not what you think!"

"You gave your boyfriend a ring, how difficult to understand is that?!" he chuckles, "Holy- you're such a hopelessly romantic shit."

_"Who is a hopelessly romantic shit?"_

They both turn and look at Teresa coming out of her room; her hair messy and her eyes tired but awake. She started walking towards them as Minho pointed at the brunet,

"Our Tommy-boy here proposed to his boyfriend."

Teresa's eyes widen at that and her face illuminated with happiness as she turned to her best friend.

Thomas groans. "I didn't propose, okay?! _Geez!_ "

"Then what about the ring?"

Teresa is now standing behind Thomas, "You gave Newt a ring?!" and sits on the other stool, looking at her friend.

"It was a promise ring... or something like that. You know, as in me telling him that I will always be with him, be by his side, and will never hurt him."

"That's better than the common shit you say when willingly entering into the last legal form of slavery called 'marriage'." Teresa gives him a look, "Which I think is a wonderful idea." Thomas snorts. "Dude, I know Beyonce says that 'if you like it you should put a ring on', but don't you think it's a little-"

Both Thomas and Teresa stare at him, an eyebrow up.

"What? She's the Queen." they both shrug it off, and he continues, "As I was saying, so you gave him a ring... and you still want to give him another present?"

"Yeah."

"Dude, you really are in love with him."

"Wow, thanks for the news, Min. Did you find it out yourself or you had help?" asks sarcastically Thomas as he pours a little of coffee in his mug.

Minho sends him a look, "Ha ha, very funny. I'll remember that for when you're in need and I'll be laughing my ass off."

 

* * *

 

The next day on the morning at the almost empty school, over the principal's office, Miss Paige was packing of all her personal belongings, ready to empty her office for the graduation. Lots of teachers were doing the same; taking their stuff out of the school. As she takes out the stuff from her desk, there was a knock on her door. She looked up at Jorge, who was peeking his head inside the office with a hand touching the door, surely the one which he used to knock.

"Hey, I'm done. Wanna go get those tacos I told you about?"

Miss Paige smiled, "Just a minute. I'm almost done."

As she continues, Jorge enters the office, "It's really weird seeing the school without students." he shivers, "It gives me the creeps, amiga." standing beside her desk, he looked at the stuff over it. There were normal office stuff, papers, pens, her phone, but then something caught his eyes, so he picked it up, inspecting it. "What is this?"

Ava looks away from her things and at what he's holding: a ceramic bear shaped shaker. Her face suddenly softens and she smiles sadly, continuing to put her stuff in boxes as she talks,

"I had this old salt and pepper set my grandmother gave me before she died. Fits together. I kept this one and I gave Teresa the other half. And I told her that whenever she looked at it she should know that at that exact moment, I'd be thinking of her and loving her."

"That's beautiful. So why the sad face?"

"That was a long time ago. I'm not even sure if she remembers... And then I remember that's she's graduating and I might not be able to see her again."

"Well, she's nineteen now, right?" the woman nods, "So, that means that technically speaking she can decide what she wants, no? So, why don't you ask her if she wants to live with you for college?"

Ava stares at him like he's crazy before she laughs, "Ow, you must be completely insane."

"Nope, just hungry." he smiles, "But I'm serious, Ava. If that kid means so much to you, then you need to say something about it." with that he puts the shaker on the desk, facing the blonde woman.

The blonde woman stares at it for a moment before gently picking it up; her finger traces the figure's face and body, and a smile appears on her face.

 

* * *

 

At the library, Aris and Gally were over different aisles, putting book in order. The sandy blond had decided to come and help him so he could finish faster and have time to get ready for the party. One of the last books Gally had to put it its place was supposed to go at the penultimate shelf, but even though Gally was tall he wasn't that tall. The sandy blonde grabbed the step ladder and placed it in front of the bookshelf; grabbing the book with one hand, he got a grip on the step ladder and started climbing it over the top. Once on the top, he searched for the place the book had to be. Aris had finished his share and turned around the corner to let Gally know but stopped at seeing him trying to accommodate the book. A smile appeared on his face as he stared at the tall blonde, and then his eyes went to the step ladder. He frowned and stared at it,

_'Wait... wasn't that the ladder that was broken?'_

As his mind started processing, the ladder started trembling but Gally didn't seem to notice. Aris' eyes widen as he realized what was gonna happen. Next thing he knew was that the ladder made a sound and it went to the side, bringing Gally with it.

"Watch out!"

As Gally fell and tried to grab from something to avoid his fall, Aris went behind him and tried to catch him, which only ended in both of them falling at the floor; Gally had grabbed Aris and they both went down, the blond on his back and the lighter brunet at his side, a hand over his chest.

The sandy blonde groaned as he leaned forward in a sitting position, "Ouch..."

Aris puts a strand of hair behind his ear as he looks at him, "You okay?!"

"Yeah," he coughs, rubbing his head and looking back at the lighter brunet.

They look at each other and stay there on the floor, just looking into each other's eyes. Aris smiles softly at him,

"Is that a habit of yours? Falling off of stuff?"

Gally smiles back at him, "Only when you're around to catch me."

Their moment doesn't last long as the sound of heels was heard and next Aris' boss appeared at the end of the aisle. She just stared at them. They didn't dare to move or say anything. Moments later she putted her hands on her hips and looked directly at Aris.

"Mr. Jones. Didn't I say you couldn't bring your boyfriend while working?"

Aris glances at Gally and then back at his boss, and lies. "Uh.... No?"

She blinks. "Oh. Well, then. Don't bring your boyfriend to work while you are working, ok?"

"Okay."

The woman smiled and the nodded, saying she needed to go to some meeting quickly. After she left they both breathed in relief and then laughed. As the laugh died, Gally went to sit better, one leg brought up and his arm resting on top of it.

"So... boyfriend?"

Aris opened his mouth but didn't found the right words to express himself. They both stood up, fixing their clothes; the blonde went to pick up the step ladder as Aris stayed in his place. He tried to act casual as he talked,

"Wu- well, you know. After everything that has happened... And the date and... besides, my boss always thought that we were something and she likes you."

Gally nods at him, like understanding what he meant. He turned his head to the ladder as picked it up. Aris stares at him while the other doesn't notice. He feels something move in his chest and he wants to say something, do something. He licks his lips and speaks,

"And I like you too."

The sandy blonde turns his head to look at him, an eyebrow raised.

"And I think that we should try it. You know, date? I mean, if you want to." he thinks the other is gonna laugh or say something like he was insane for even thinking that, or he was going to be rejected. But then the dirty blonde's answer was,

"Okay."

The lighter brunet blinks, but he acts as if he were unaffected. "...Well, we're gonna be exclusive, you get me? You and I. Me and you. I don't like cheating."

Gally nods, "Okay."

"And we don't need to go out to a fancy place every time we want to spend some time together."

"Okay."

"Sex is obviously on the table. B-but we'll have to be careful." he says as if he were warning.

"I'll wear a helmet." says Gally with a grin.

"I'm serious. You really sure you want to do this?" he shrugs, "I mean, I can be pretty handful some times."

"You really think I would be accepting if I couldn't handle your _'pretty handful'_?"

Aris chuckles, looking down at his hands. A minute passes before the dirty blonde speaks again, clearing his throat,

"So... Wanna go to Newt's birthday party with me?"

Aris bats his eyes with a smile, "I thought you'd never ask."

 

* * *

 

_Popping bottles in the ice, like a blizzard_

_When we drink we do it right gettin slizzard_

_Sippin sizzurp in my ride, like Three 6_

_Now I'm feeling so fly like a G6_

 

At Minho's place, the apartment was filled with balloons, a big table with food and snacks, and punch and sodas. Over the corner was the iPod dock with speakers to put some music after Newt arrived. All the gang was there: Gally and Aris were talking to Teresa near the kitchen. Ben was at the other side talking to some guys from the football team, all laughing at something he said. Sonya was with Harriet over the couch. Alby had the task to bring Newt to the apartment without the blonde finding out about the party, so he wasn't there at the moment. Half of the seniors were there too, and the others would come later. Standing in the middle of the place, Thomas and Minho were admiring their work.

"This is so cool." said Minho grinning. God, he loved parties.

"I know. Everything has to be perfect. Well, at least as perfect as a party can be." he turns to Minho, "So where's Newt's present?"

"At my room, so no one will touch it and break it."

Thomas nods, "Good." he stays still for a moment before he turns to Minho again, "You think he'll like it?"

"He better. That shit cost me half my savings."

Thomas grimaces, "Yeah, I know. Thanks again for paying half of it. I really appreciate."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm awesome, I know." Thomas rolls his eyes. Minho puts a hand over his shoulder, "I just want you to remember later when you're having sex with Newt thanks to this gift to raise your hand high on the air and say," he kisses his fist and then lifts it up, "'This goes for Minho.'"

"Uh, I don't think neither Newt nor Teresa will like it."

"They don't have to find out."

"Found out what?"

Minho and Thomas are startled by the raven girl approaching them,

"Uh, that if Newt takes a little more time to get here, you're gonna have to sing to entertain the people."

" _Sing_? What am I?!" she walks back to the kitchen. Minho lets out a relief sigh as Thomas shakes his head and chuckles. Seconds later he gets a text on his phone; he takes it out and unblocks it.

"It's from Alby." he reads the text, "They're here!"

Minho claps, getting everyone's attention. "Okay, everybody! Newt's coming, so everyone hide and keep quiet!"

As soon as he finished saying that, everyone started running around the place, searching for places to hide. Minho turned the lights off and went to hide near the kitchen counter with Thomas and Teresa. Seconds later they heard footsteps and familiar voices.

_"You sure we should be doing this?"_ asked the Brit.

_"Totally. Don't tell me you don't want to use Minho's to play some videogames?"_

_"And where is Minho?"_

The sound of a key being inserted in the lock, _"I think he and Teresa went to watch a movie."_ and then the knob turning around. Alby and Newt entered the apartment, turning the lights on, and as soon as the place illuminated, everyone jumps out of their hiding place and yell at the same time

_"SURPRISE!"_

Streamers and confetti surround Newt as the blonde stays there with a surprised expression; eyes wide and mouth open. The rest of the gang approaches him.

Newt blinks a few times, "Wha-

"We wanted to make you a birthday party because of your late birthday. You know, as you were busy because the exams to worry about having fun and all that." says Minho.

"But how-" he stops mid-sentence and turns around to where his boyfriend is and looks at Thomas with a smile, _"You~"_

The brunet nods, _"Me~"_

Minho and Teresa point at Thomas, _"He~"_

They laugh. Newt cups Thomas' face and brings it closer to his so he can kiss him. The brunet gladly lets him. When they separate just millimeters, Newt breathes a 'thank you' against his lips, eyes closed. Minho claps one more time,

"Okay! Let's get this party started!"

 

_So you wanna party? So you wanna dance?_

_You better know someone, then find someone of our friends_

 

There was no need to say more. Everyone agreed and started dancing, the music playing louder than before. Jumping, twirling, raising hands high to the air, some singing, others yelling; nobody was standing still.

 

_This is emergency (wooh ooh ooh)_

_Call an ambulance, come rescue me (wooh ooh ooh)_

_Everybody in this bitch (wooh ooh ooh)_

_If you wanna get up, get down like this_

 

The party went well, better than Thomas expected. Everyone was having fun, especially Newt. Minho had grabbed Teresa and they hit the center of the apartment, laughing as they danced. Newt went to talk to Alby and Ben, and they were on a corner, standing up while talking, a red cup on hand. Yep, best party. Thomas was happy just seeing Newt smiling and having a good time. As his thoughts went to 'when would be the right hour to give Newt his present?', he turned his look around the place and saw talking with a tall dark-haired guy and dark skinned girl was Brenda.

Brenda.

Thomas' eyes widen. _'Wh-wh-why was she here?! She wasn't supposed to- Oh God, Newt!'_ He panicked. Making his way through the crowd of people, he manages to get to Minho, grabbing him by the shoulder to have his attention.

"Min. Min," the Asian male turns to Thomas, "Is that- is that... Did you invited her? Did you invited Brenda?"

"What? No! Who do you think I am?!" he shrugs, "Maybe someone else invited her. Maybe she invited herself."

"Do something! Newt's here and I don't want him to see her!" he gets closer to his friend as if he wanted him to be the only one to hear him. "The other day she ran into us at the coffee shop and I think she said something to taunt him because as soon as she left he dragged me to his house to have sex!" he whines.

Minho shrugs, "So? You got to have sex, right?"

"What's the matter with me? Why am I such a girl?"

Minho pats him on the shoulder. He then moves to where the music is playing, leaving Thomas alone with his whining. Once he gets there, Teresa also approaches him.

"Oh, you were gonna change the song?"

Teresa nods, "Yeah, I wanted to try something more moved."

"Girl, you have fire." his eyes move to the Ipod and he noticed something. "Hey! Who dared to touch my beloved iPod with doritos hands! I can't believe it, now there are orange stains on it!" he groans, "Ugh! Sometimes I think God is teasing me...just like he teased Moses in the desert!"

Teresa puts a hand over his shoulder, " _Tested_ , Minho. God _tested_ Moses."

"Potato, potatoe."

As Teresa rolled her eyes with a smile, Newt approached them holding a red cup,

"Hey,"

She smiles, "Hey, you. Having fun?"

"He better." the raven girl looks at him, "I mean... Of course he is! Can't you see he's already drinking the delicious punch?"

"Oh yeah, you mean the spiked punch?"

"The punch is spiked?" asked Teresa with surprise. She then looks back at her boyfriend, "The punch is spiked."

"What? You think I did it?" asked Minho with a frown, "Shame on you! If I wanted to bring alcohol I wouldn't have done it behind your back!"

"Oh, no. We know you could never do anything bad, Min. You're such a goody-two shoes." said Newt in a mocking tone.

At his tone, Minho made an insulted face and went to the snacks table; he turned to look at Newt faking scowl before grabbing an unsuspecting Gally who was talking to Aris and wrapping his arms around his neck. Teresa and Aris could only laugh at the pair of idiots. The music changed into one with more energy. Everyone got excited and started to dance at the song's rhythm.

Thomas was hiding behind the kitchen counter, looking around at everyone at the party. He had lost Brenda from sight; he didn't knew where she was and that was scary. He was trying to search for her when he felt a hand grabbing his own hand and he got startled, ready to turn around and leave when he saw Newt's face.

"Hey,"

"Oh, hey! It's you!"

Newt frowns confused, "Yeah, it's me. Who did you thought it would be?"

"Uh, no one! Just got startled a little."

Newt seemed to bought it. "Wanna dance?"

Thomas grinned, "Hell yeah."

 

* * *

 

Another hour passed but the party continued with the same intensity. Occasionally the music would change into one with a softer and slower rhythm -for couples, obviously- and Thomas took the chance to dance slowly with Newt. Of course, as the party continued its course, the punch started to taste more like alcohol than like punch. But no one saw who was the one who had spiked it. Teresa was pretty sure that the first time had been Minho, but didn't knew who did it again. Not that anyone was complaining about the alcohol; no, all the contrary. Some guys were starting to be affected by the alcohol, slightly stumbling, slurring the words and one or two that went to the bathroom to throw up 'cuz they couldn't hold their liquor. But Thomas felt fine. He just had a cup... well, two, actually. Newt didn't had any.

Teresa finished her bowl of doritos and putted it over the kitchen counter. In that moment her phone rang and taking it out of her pocket she saw the alarm she had programmed. Miss Paige had called her earlier that day and asked if she could come to her house to talk. Teresa immediately said yes and they agreed in an hour. She looked at the time and putted away her phone; she walked towards Minho, who was talking to Alby and Ben over the snacks table. She patted his shoulder, making him turn around and ignore the others.

"Hey, sorry, I need to go." she said with a sad smile.

"You're not staying? Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, it's fine. Sorry I have to go. But I'll come back tomorrow."

He holds up his pinky, "Promise?"

She holds her pinky and intertwines it with his, "Promise." and leans forward to give him a peck on the lips.

She smiles and turns toward the door, leaving the party. After she leaves, Minho turns back to the other two guys and finds them making silly faces and whistling at him, making the Asian male to shove them in an attempt to shush them.

As Newt had gone to the bathroom, Thomas had totally forgot about Brenda and that he was supposed to be avoiding her all he could. Waiting for his boyfriend to come back, he looked around and saw the brunet girl walking towards him. _Shit._ He panicked. Before he could do or say anything, she had managed to grab him by the wrist and pull him somewhere else, away from the loudspeakers. Once they don't hear too much noise on their ears she lets go and turns to face him.

"Brenda, what are you-

She holds up her hand, indicating him to stop, "Please, let me talk first." he nods, "I wanted to say that I'm so sorry. For everything." the brunet's eyebrows shot up. Wow. He hadn't been expecting that. "I know I acted like a bitch. I shouldn't have. It's just that sometimes I'm so insecure and... I really liked you. You are a great guy, you are handsome, and I'm sorry. I know you have Newt now, and I'm happy for you." she takes a moment; it seemed to be hard for her to apologize. She bites her lips before continuing, "It's fine if you don't, I would totally understand, but... I hope you can forgive me... for everything."

Thomas stares at her and smiles, "Of course."

Brenda smiles and gives him a nod; then she leaves, passing in between the crowd of people and disappearing. Thomas sighed. _'Wow. That had been weird.'_ But now he didn't had to worry about her and he could really spend some time with Newt! He grinned and ran to the other direction in search for the blonde.

 

* * *

 

Teresa knocked on the door and waited for it to open. She had parked her car on the other side of the street, as the navy car of Miss Paige was already occupying space. She looked around the small apartment -well, the outside at least-. There were some empty boxes outside and over the trash. That was weird. Moments later the door opened and the blonde woman stood there, smiling at her.

"Hi. I'm glad you came." she moves aside, "Please come in."

Teresa nods and enters the apartment. She turns to the blonde woman as she closes the door. Ava smiles at her again.

"How are you?" they walk to the living room.

"Fine, fine. I was actually at a party with my friends."

"Oh, did I interrupted or-

"No, no. It's okay. Not my first party, and definitely not the last one."

Miss Paige smiled fondly at her, and then gestured to the couch. Teresa sat down, putting her hands on her lap nervously. The blonde woman continued to be on her feet, before she started moving towards where Teresa thought it was the kitchen.

"I'll make some tea. Or do you prefer something else?"

"No, tea is fine."

Ava smiled and disappeared in the kitchen. Teresa sat there in the couch at the living room, looking around the place and instead of feeling fidgety or weird for being there, she felt comfortable. In peace. Like home.

 

* * *

 

Back at the party, Aris had been approached by some drunk guy who thought that Aris was interested in whatever he wanted. Aris tried to avoid him, but the other followed him. Finally, the lighter brunet gave up and just stood there hearing as the other talked nonsense.

"So, listen, I was thinking that maybe we could get out of this party and go somewhere else-

_"Go away."_ comes a voice from behind him.

The guy frowns, "Hey, I-" he turns around to face Gally but he has to look up and gets intimidated by both his height and the face he's making. "Uh, I was just going." and he runs away.

Gally continues to stare at him until he's gone, and when he turns back he finds the brunet also looking at the other disappear.

Aris looks at him and smirks, "That's not nice. He just wanted to talk to me."

"Aha, I know his _'talks'._ "

Aris continues smirking. "Maybe you wanna _'talk'_ with me instead."

"Maybe."

The lighter brunet chuckles and rolls his eyes, holding the red cup closer to his mouth as he continues to stare at the tall blonde.

On the other side of the party, over the couch Newt had finally sat after dancing too much. Thomas had gone to bring him a beverage from the snacks table. Newt smiled after he left. He was so happy about the party and that his friends had done something like this for him, and Thomas had told him minutes ago that he had his birthday gift hiding so he could give it to him after everyone leaved.

Taking out the necklace hiding inside his shirt, he looked at the shiny ring hanging from it. He had considered this Thomas' birthday gift, but who he was to deny any other gift?

As he chuckled, his phone rang inside his pocket, so he fished it out. Walking from the snacks table with a red cup on hand, Thomas approached his boyfriend and noticed the frown on his face as he looked at his phone.

"Hey, is something wrong?"

Newt looks up at him and back at his phone. He then looks back at Thomas, "Sorry, I, uh... I need to go."

"What? Why?"

"My mom got sick and my dad will work 'till late, maybe even 'till tomorrow. He asked if I could go and take care of my mom."

"Oh. No, no, no. I get it. Go,"

"Sure?"

"Newt, your mom's sick and you're the only one that can take care of her. I'm not going to prevent you from doing so."

Newt smiles softly at him and nods, standing up. "I'll come back in the morning. I promise."

"No need, but if you wanna..." he gives him a peck on the lips, "Go, your mom needs you."

Newt nods again and goes to turn around and leave, but before he does that he turns back at Thomas and cups his face, bringing their lips together. When they separate they both had to take air.

"See you tomorrow." with that he ran to the door.

"I'll be waiting." said Thomas with a smile as he saw the blonde leave. He sighs, drinks in a single gulp the alcohol in the red cup, and then turns around and yells "Hey, Min! Don't drink it all by yourself! Give me some!"

 

* * *

 

Back at Miss Paige's apartment, she and Teresa had been the past hour talking about many stuff. About Teresa's life, her friends, her aspirations for the future, about Miss Paige's plans, etc. They even had talk about the time when they were both together before Teresa got adopted. In a moment of fondness, Miss Paige revealed to Teresa that at one point she had desired to adopt her but couldn't do it as she was her social worker and that's why she quitted. Teresa sat there in silence as the blonde woman continued, explaining that that was the reason Teresa didn't saw her for a couple of weeks before she got adopted. Her heart didn't stopped flipping inside her chest the entire talk. They changed the subject, instead talking about what were Teresa's plans now that high school is over.

"So? Graduation is in a couple of weeks. Nervous?"

"Yes. I know I shouldn't be, there's nothing to be nervous about but I am."

"It's okay to be nervous, my child."

Teresa smiled at her and stared at her half-empty cup of tea.

"And Aris and I have talked about sharing an apartment for college, but I think he'll want to share with his not-my-boyfriend boyfriend, so I guess I'll have to figure out where I'm going to live."

"For college?" Ava putted down her cup of tea on the table. "This might sound a little weird but I know that you are planning on going to WICKED." she gives a little shrug, "It was on the papers."

Teresa nods, "Yeah, it's a pretty good school. I've been thinking about it for a while. Actually my friends are going there too."

"I don't know if you know this but... I'm actually the principal there."

Teresa's eyes widen and she blinks a few times, "What?"

"Been for a while. I just took some vacations and had someone replace me while I wasn't there. But when classes start again I'll have to go back."

"Oh."

Ava saw the look on the girl's face and she thought about what Jorge told her and she decided to give it a go. "So... I've been thinking... Something weird came to my mind with that information, and I wanted to ask you. You are in your right to say no," she stands up, walking towards her wooden cupboard and grabbing the salt & pepper shaker -Teresa didn't saw it-. She turns around and walks back to the couch, sitting next to Teresa. The blue eyed girl stares at her, waiting for her to continue talking.

"I've been thinking about it, and I..." she puts the salt/pepper shaker on the coffee table, facing the raven girl, "would like you to come live with me."

Teresa stays still for a moment like if she didn't knew what to do or say, she just stood there. Ava was staring at her, not pushing her just waiting for an answer, no matter which one. Teresa finally blinked before she stands up from the couch and runs past Miss Paige and towards the door. The blonde woman stares at the nothing as she hears the door closing hard; she then looks at the front. She opens her mouth but nothing comes out. A stinging feeling came to her chest, and she resisted the urge to clutch at her chest.

The blonde woman stands up and starts to walk towards the stairs. Just as she puts a hand over the banister, she's startled by a voice coming from behind her. Ava turns around in time to see Teresa over the door,

"Where you going?"

She was over the door -she didn't heard when it opened-, holding the other salt/pepper shaker on her hands and was looking at the blonde woman with puppy eyes, her blue eyes shining even more with small tears forming. _Oh._ She had ran to her car where she had the other half and retrieved it.

Miss Paige blinks a few times, "I thought..."

Teresa approaches the table and puts the two salt/pepper shakers together so they fit into a hug ([x](https://cdn0.rubylane.com/shops/hodgepodgelodge/GS1843.1L.jpg)). She stares at the blonde woman over the stairs, waiting for her to say or do something. Miss Paige smiles at her, opening her arms and seconds later Teresa runs to hug her. The blonde woman carefully caresses the soft raven hair as the girl hides her face on her chest, her hands clutching at her clothes.

 

* * *

 

If you asked Thomas he would've told you he wasn't drunk. He was just having fun. Because who didn't like to have fun? Walking around the crowd, he found some guys that were already passed out. Maybe the ones that couldn't hold their liquor. Some girls were dancing in a seductive way, and a bunch of guys had their eyes glued at them. Gally and Aris making out over the kitchen counter, the lighter brunet sitting over it while the tall blonde was standing between his legs. Huh, good for them. Ben and Sonya were trying to make Alby stand on one foot while stretching his arms wide to his sides. They chuckled every time the dark-skinned guy stumbled. What a party indeed.

 

_We came to smash, smash_

_We came to smash_

_We came to smash, smash_

_We came to smash_

_Smash, smash_

_We came to smash_

 

Not moving from his position, he felt something bump against his shoulder, so he turned his head and saw his best friend standing beside him. He was looking at the whole party with an inquisitive way.

Minho takes a step back and makes a frame with his hands. "You know, this whole scene looks like a Renaissance painting."

Thomas chuckles and then his eyes wander around the room until they fall over a solitary figure on the big couch. It was Brenda; she sat alone, a drink on her hand as she looked at the people dancing and having fun around her, grimacing a little. Thomas felt a little bad and half guilty. She was sitting there alone because of him; he had rejected her. Well, she did insist in wanting to have sex but... What if she didn't just wanted to have sex with him? What if she had real feelings for him? Like real, strong, non-carnal feelings and he destroyed that. Everybody deserved to be happy, to have love in their lives.

Thomas excused himself and moved towards the couch, passing through the dancing people. Brenda didn't seem to notice him until he was standing beside her and cleared his throat. "Umm... Hey." she turned to look at him, "Do you mind if I sit at your side or you'll find it awkward?" Brenda smiled shyly and made a sign to let him know it was okay.

Thomas sat and strangely enough it wasn't awkward. Mostly because Thomas knew that she didn't wanted to jump his bones anymore. They started talking about stuff and then found themselves laughing whenever someone drunk did something funny or stupid. Especially if it was Minho.

 

_We came to smash in a black tux_

_We came to smash, smash_

_In the black tuxedo._

 

 

* * *

 

The birds chirped as they did every morning when the sun was up. The apartment was now fully and absolutely in peace, as the party had ended hours ago, all the people leaving to their respective destination. On the other hand, the place was a mess: balloons from different colors all over the place, also some plates and red cups that didn't landed on the trash can. The kitchen counter with leftovers of snacks and more red cups.

The door opened really slow, trying not to make any kind of noise. Newt entered the apartment with Thomas' spare key and closed the door behind him, putting the key back on his pocket. After his mom felt better and she fell to sleep, he had been too tired to go back to the party and accidentally fell asleep on his parent's room, lying close to his mom. Even after his dad came back from work, he didn't woke him up or told him to leave; he managed to also fit in the bed with his wife and son. Newt woke up an hour ago and looking at the clock, he thought he could at least go back and continue sleeping beside Thomas.

He looks around the place, trying to determine whether a tornado or an earthquake happened last night, 'cus only something with that magnitude could do a mess like this. He walked between the red cups, balloons and the couch's pillows until he arrived at the couch. Sprawled over there was Minho, wearing a sympathetic party hat and hugging a pineapple. _What?_ Newt chuckled at that, shaking his head. Only Minho could throw a party like that. Trying again to not make any noise that could awake the Asian male, the blonde walked towards Thomas' bedroom door. He combed away a strand of hair over his ear and smiled brightly, reaching for the doorknob.

 

* * *

 

Minutes before, Thomas felt the warms rays of light coming through the window and falling right into his face, thus waking him up. He barely opened his eyes when the rush of hangover hit him and hit him _hard_. He let out a low groan, bringing his left hand to massage his temple as he sat, resting his back at the bed board. He couldn't remember much of last night. When had he drank that much? And how did he manage to get to his bed? And where the hell were his clothes?  _Uh_ , his brain was too tired for this.

He was about to forget about all of it when he noticed he wasn't alone on bed. The first thing he noticed was hair. Dark, brown hair falling over the pillow. The heat radiating from the body made a lump on Thomas' throat. He hovered over the body to find it was a woman. But not any woman.

Brenda.

_Oh no._ God, please let this be a joke. A crude and horrendous joke. She was sleeping peaceful and profound. He curiously noticed she was naked underneath the blankets. _Oh no, what has he done?_

Before he could process any more information, the bedroom door opened slowly and entering was Newt, whose smile fell when he saw Thomas. He stood there, his gaze falling between the brunet and Brenda; Thomas felt he could throw up at any second and not exactly because of the booze. Before he could say or do anything, Newt flew out of the bedroom, tripping with some things on the floor. Thomas didn't waited another second and fast grabbing his black boxers lying over the floor, he launched outside of the bed and the room, following the blonde who was about to grab the doorknob.

_"Newt!_ Newt, wait I-

_"Don't!"_ said the blonde turning around and holding up a finger, "Don't you dare, Tommy." his face was red, and not the type of red when Thomas hugged him when they were alone nor the type when he's sick. This was the type of red you have when you feel like your heart is going to explode in your mouth when you've been betrayed.

"Newt. Please, let me explain."

"What are you going to say, Thomas? That it didn't happen? That you both were too tired and wasted and decided to share bed? Please, enlighten me." he crossed his arms.

Thomas stood there feeling completely naked. He didn't knew what to say. He couldn't say _it_ didn't happen because he himself doesn't know. He couldn't say it was a mistake because he'll be admitting that something did happened last night. He just stood there, being watched and judged by the person he loved the most.

When he couldn't find any words of any kind, Newt nodded as if he had his answer and turned around to grab the knob, opening the door and leaving, slamming the door on his way out. Thomas didn't shout after him. Thomas didn't went after him. He couldn't move. His legs wouldn't obey him; they could barely hold him so he wouldn't fall on the floor.

Minho manages to open his eyes although for a few seconds, then he closes them again and puts a hand over his head groaning. He doesn't notice the state of his best friend. "Dude, that party sure rocked!" he notices the pineapple he's hugging and raises it, "And where the shucking hell do this pineapple came from?"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me!


	45. Lying Kings and Drama Queens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you are ready because there's only two more chapters for this fic to end. But don't get upset, after I finish with this, I'll update the other Newtmas fic I told you about (the one with magic/supernatural elements).  
> In the meantime I'll let you enjoy this chapter!

_William Shakespeare wrote "Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none."_

 

Over the afternoon at the Hale house, Thomas was slumped over the couch at the living room, staring at the nothing. He was alone at this house. His dads were out; his dad had work, and his pops had to go and help Uncle Scott with something. Thomas wasn't in the mood to do something, not even get up to his room. He could just lay there and die... but unfortunately couldn't.

Newt has been avoiding him since his birthday party at Minho's. And since there were no more classes he couldn't even stand near him. He didn't answer his calls, he wasn't home whenever Thomas went looking for him. God, he missed him so much. And Thomas spent also most of his time avoiding Brenda, who didn't seem to understand that them sleeping together was a big mistake. She would occasionally go to his work and try talk to him.

Graduation was getting near, and that meant that Newt had to go even if he didn't want to meet him. But Thomas couldn't wait till that day. What if he ignored him? Would that be his last chance to talk to him?

Thomas shook his head and his thoughts away. No, he couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't.

 

* * *

 

At the Reed's house over Newt's room, the blonde was at the window seat, arms crossed over his stomach, stretched legs, looking over the window. He was wearing baggy clothes; a dark blue hoodie -with the hood down- and long black with white grid-pattern pants. Teresa -who had decided to come and make him company- was wearing a light blue shirt and black leggings, while sitting at his bed, looking at him sadly when the phone rang.

Teresa had the phone beside her so she answered it, "Hello?"

_"Hi."_ said Thomas from the other side in a low tone. He sure was depressed.

Teresa opened her mouth but couldn't say anything. Newt noticed this and asked, "Is that him again?" the girl nods. Newt looks back at the window, letting out a huff.

Teresa turns her head away, "Listen, I-I don't think this is the best time." she says to the brunet.

_"Look, can, can you do something for me?"_

Teresa grimaced, "Sure, what?" she pauses for a moment, hearing what Thomas said to her, "Ok, ok." she says softly, then hangs up the phone and puts it away. She stands up, turning to Newt and smiles, "Music?" the blonde nods slowly. Teresa walks towards the radio Newt had on his bedroom and turns it on, some rock music playing as she turned around, crossing her arms as the song ended.

_"The next one's dedicated to Newt from Thomas."_ the blonde stops looking out of the window and turns his head to the radio, _"Newt, he wants you to know he's deeply sorry for what he did,"_ he looks at Teresa, who looks at him in sorrow, _"and he hopes you can find it in your heart to forgive him."_

'Linger' from The Cranberries starts to play. Newt glances at Teresa for a second, opening his mouth in awe and then looking at the front.

Thomas hears the song playing and leans back at the sofa. Newt is looking at the phone temptingly, biting his nails. He stretched over the window seat and to the phone, putting away a strand of hair behind his ear as he dials a number. Teresa smiles at him, looking at the ground.

Thomas was hearing the song, however, after a few seconds the song's interrupted. _"Uh, we've just gotten a call from Newt, and he told us what Thomas did."_ Thomas looks at the radio, _"It's pretty appalling, and Thomas, if you're listening, I don't wanna play your song anymore."_ the brunet groans and lets his face fall into the couch in defeat.

Over Newt's room, Teresa bites her lips trying to suppress grimace that was trying to form on her face as Newt was still with his arms crossed and looking at the window. The raven girl moves to turn off the radio, and then walks to the bed, sitting on the edge while looking at Newt. The blonde Brit stares at the window, but she knows that he can see her through the window's reflection; he sighs and turns his head towards her direction.

"Why aren't you with Thomas? Aren't you his best girl friend?"

"Because I know how it feels when your heart is hurting because of a guy. Besides, Minho might be with him. It's only fair that I'm here with you."

"Thanks,"

She brings her legs up to her chest, hugging them, "Newt, talk to me. I'm worried about you. We all are." she tilts her head, "What are you thinking?"

The blonde Brit starts playing with his hands, "When I first met Thomas I told him that I was a little superstitious. That sometimes I had luck and some others not so much." he sighs, "I think I was right after all."

"Newt, this isn't bad luck. It's just... sometimes life sucks, you know? And maybe this is a kind of test. T-to know if your relationship with Thomas is meant to be."

He snorts, "Well, then, I think we have the answer."

"Newt, you know that Thomas would never cheat on you. He's crazy about you. He's hurting too."

"I don't care."

"Everybody makes mistakes-

Newt turns to her looking angry, "If you're going to be here to talk nice about Thomas and try to make me feel bad for him, and not to support me then please leave." he looks back at the window.

Teresa stays in her place, not even glancing at the door. She knows that he's acting like an ass and that she was in her right to leave, but she also knows that underneath his cold exterior, Newt is hurting too. And he needs someone to be there for him. Teresa rests her face over her knee, grabs her iPod from the bed and plays soft music.

 

* * *

 

Hours later, Stiles was over the kitchen, washing the dishes when he heard a knock on the door. He wiped his hands and went over the door, opening it to reveal Isaac and Lydia. He let them come in, noticing they had groceries bags.

"Hey, what are those?"

Lydia glances at the bags and back at him, "Well, we know that since there are no more classes, it means you don't have to go to work. It also means that you have to whole day free but yet you aren't capable of leaving the house knowing your son is in pain. And you haven't gone shopping for food."

Stiles sighs. The other two walk towards the kitchen and put the bags over the counter. The strawberry blonde woman walks to him and caresses his arm in a comforting way. He grimaces at her.

Isaac also approaches, "So, how is..." he glanced at the stairs, obviously at where the rooms -specifically Thomas' room- were.

Stiles sighs, "He hasn't come out of his room for the whole day. Nor the other day, or the day before. I really don't know what to do. I don't know what to say! What do you say to a teenager boy whose boyfriend doesn't want to see him at all?

Isaac snaps his fingers, "Wait, that question was on 'Final Jeopardy' last night." and he looks up as if he were thinking the answer.

Stiles sends him a murderous look. Lydia rolls her eyes.

Isaac shrugs, "You could tell him that sometimes that's how things flow. Maybe he isn't really... that in love. He's just smitten. You know how guys are, they say one thing and the next moment they say other. Like Derek." he snorts, "I mean, one time he said he would totally forget about dating, and then he went to visit Scott one summer and came back freaking out about how he wanted to sleep with his brother's best friend."

Stiles frowns, "I don't remember that."

"Dude, you were fifteen. He would send me these messages saying, _'please send me hourly text reminders for the rest of the evening about how I am going to go to jail/hell for perving on a fifteen year old boy in swim shorts'_."

"Guys!" yells Lydia, a small flush over her face, "This isn't going anywhere!"

"She's right." said Stiles, "I'll just..." he sighs, "see what I'll say." and starts walking towards the stairs. Lydia and Isaac stay in the kitchen, saying 'we're going to put the food in the fridge'.

Stiles went upstairs, one step at a time. Once he reached upstairs and at the bedroom of his son, he stood in front of the door. Wow, this is how his father must felt when he had to talk to him about something serious, or comforting him. How the hell did he did it? He knocked the door slowly, waiting for any authorization to enter the room. When he barely heard a vague 'come in', he entered the room. Inside, above the bed, Thomas had his back leaned over the bedboard, his head hide between his legs and covered by his arms. He had the same clothes than the day before; a simple grey shirt and blue pants. Stiles grimaced and wondered if he should go and sit near his son. He made up his mind and approached the bed, sitting at the edge looking at his son.

"Hi." as expected, Thomas didn't said anything, "Want to tell me?" he asked in a soft voice.

A few long seconds passed before the brunet talked, still with his face covered, "I screw up. I screw up so bad." he heard Thomas murmuring.

"Why?"

"I finally had someone I cared - _loved_ " he corrected himself, "but I just keep making the same mistakes one after another."

"Well, mistakes are what remind us that we are humans."

"Thanks pops, but I don't need a reminder that I'm human. I have enough with my mistakes and pain."

Stiles looked around the room, trying to find the words that could cheer up his son. He brought his hands together, lacing his long fingers as he said, "You know, when you're young everything feels like the end of the world. But it's not; it's just the beginning."

Thomas lifted his face from his hide; his eyes were bloodshot and a little glassy from all the crying, his nose was as red as Rudolph the red nosed reindeer's and his bottom lip was slightly trembling. Stiles felt a lump over his throat. No father should ever look at his son like this. No one should ever look like this.

"It does feel like the end of the world, though." says Thomas. Stiles chuckles softly, grabbing his son's hand and caressing it. He was cold. "It's just that... I tried to do something good for someone I thought I caused pain... but then that actually caused pain to someone else."

"And Newt doesn't want to talk to you anymore?"

"I don't know. For the time being, he won't. I don't know if this will be forever." he closes his eyes, bowing his head, " _God_ , just thinking about that... not being able to be with Newt, it hurts." then he lifts his face again, "It's just an agonizing pain."

"If it's about love, isn't a little agony worth it?" asked Stiles.

The younger brunet began fiddling his fingers, looking at them, "I-I can't... This is just pure hell."

"Then think about something Winston Churchill once said: _'If you're going through hell... keep going.'_ "

Thomas looked into his pops' eyes, the fiery determination in them, just like in his own when he had something in his mind and was willing to do it, no matter what. He nodded. He rubbed his eyes and cheeks, and smiled at his pops. His hand searched Stiles' and they intertwined in a firm hold.

 

* * *

 

And there he was. Standing in front of Newt's house at night, just a few inches away from the door, looking like a totally creep. He hadn't meant to go to his house, but he ended going anyway. He just needed to see him, to hear his voice. Something! So he took air, brought his hand to the door and gently knocking on the door he waited. Part of him wanted it to be Newt who answered it, but part of him knew that if that happened the blonde would just slam the door close in his face. He didn't wanted that. He hears the sound of the knob turning around and then the door opens, revealing Allison.

"Hi, Aunt Allison."

"Hey, dear. Is something wrong?"

"Oh, I was just walking near here and I thought..." he scratches the back of his head, "I was wondering, is Newt here?"

"Um," she discretely glances behind the door and at the stairs, where Newt is sitting down, obviously hiding. The blonde slowly shakes his head 'no'. "He's not here right now. Sorry, he didn't told me where he went."

"No, no. I-It's fine." he grimaces. What was he waiting for? Some fairy tale moment? "Thanks. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Thomas." she closes the door.

Thomas stays there without moving for a couple of seconds. _Dammit!_ He sighed and giving the house one last look he turned around and left.

Inside the house, Allison was still standing in front of the door. She turns around and looks at her son, "Still not talking to him?" and walks back to the kitchen leaving Newt sitting over the stairs, gripping tight at the stair railings while staring at the door.

Half hour later, Newt was lying over his bed on his back, staring at the ceiling when he heard a knock on the door. The door opens, revealing Andrew holding a sky-blue bowl with a spoon in his hand. Newt sits on the bed, brining his legs closer to his chest as his dad approaches the bed and gives Newt the bowl of ice cream,

"Here you go, love. Fudge ripple's like a heartbreak airbag. Doesn't stop the hurting but it sure cushions the blow."

Newt accepts it, "Thanks, dad."

Andrew stares at his son as the blonde just looks down at the bowl. "So, how you doing?"

Newt shrugs, "Totally fine living with this constant pain in my heart." he takes a spoonful of ice cream. "It's fine,"

"No, it's not."

"No, it's not." he brings a hand to his eyes, covering them as he lets out a sigh. "I just... I want to see him. I really do. I really do want to see him but I can't look at him because _God_ , now I just can't stop picturing him with her," he sobs, "a-and, um, it hurts, it hurts so much."

The older man gets closer to the blonde and hugs him sideways, resting his chin over Newt's head as the blonde starts sobbing, hiding his face in his father's chest.

 

* * *

 

The next day early in the morning over the pizza parlor, Alby, Minho, Gally, Aris and Teresa were sitting in a table, talking about the whole 'Thomas and Newt' problem and how they could help. They both were their friends, and they didn't want to choose a side or anything like that.

"So, how are we gonna help?" asks Aris as he looks at the rest.

Alby is the first to talk, "I don't know. I feel like I want to do something to stop them from hurting, but then I just want to hit Thomas because for what he did."

Minho frowns, "But we know that Thomas is crazy about Newt!"

"Yeah, that's the part that makes me not hit him."

"These aren't John and Jane breaking up after prom! These are our friends we're talking about!" says Teresa, "Guys, this is serious."

"She's right," says Gally, "We have to do something. They are too hurt to do something by themselves, so why don't we help them with that?"

"What do you suggest? Lock them in a closet and wait that they solve their differences?" ask him Aris.

"No,"

"Then what?"

"I don't know!"

"Wow, you are such a great help." Gally stares at him and then eats his onion rings, making the lighter brunet whine, _"Hey!"_

"Guys," they turn back to Minho, "I have to go talk to Thomas in a few. I'll try to do something about it, okay?" the rest nod at him, "I'll just hope everything goes well."

 

* * *

 

At the Hale house, Thomas was still over his room, sitting on his bed and doing absolutely nothing. Thank God there were no more classes because he would have already failed them. His dad was at work, and Stiles was downstairs. Thomas is so busy staring at the ceiling that he doesn't hear the steps coming towards his room. There's a knock on his door and for a moment Thomas hopes that it's Newt because God, he really wants to see him but the door opens, revealing Minho on the other side.

Thomas' face falls, "Oh, it's you."

"Wow, you can actually feel the love in that phrase. Care to repeat it?" Thomas doesn't say anything. Minho enters the room and soon his nose scrunches, "It smells like dead in here."

"Sorry, it's me."

"Yeah, I can tell." he's standing beside the bed and takes in Thomas' state. "Dude, when was the last time you showered?"

"What day is today?"

"Oh my god," Minho walks around the bed to find a 'clean' spot to sit down.

"Min, don't think I don't like your company... but what are you doing here?"

The Asian male puts a hand over his shoulder, "You're my best friend. I said I would always be right next to you." he scrunches his nose, "Even though right now my eyes are watering because of the smell, _God_!"

Thomas smiles at that.

After a few minutes, Minho had somehow managed to make Thomas take a shower as he helped him clean his room. Thomas came out of the shower with clean clothes and a towel over his shoulders as he dried his hair. Minho ordered a pizza -even though he had already eaten pizza a few hours ago, but Thomas mustn't know- and they started talking about everything that had happened after the party.

"So, Brenda is still going to the shop?" asks Thomas. He had asked his boss for a few days off, and since then he hadn't seen her.

"Yeah, it's like she's trying to catch you, but every time she enters and just sees me there she huffs and turns around to leave."

Thomas groaned.

"Why can't she just leave me alone?"

Minho shrugs, "Maybe she thinks you are together, you know. Because of... you know..." he holds his hands up to hold his thoughts, "Okay, okay! First things first," he takes a moment to make it serious. "Did you really slept with Brenda?"

"I don't know, Min!" whined Thomas, "I already told you!"

"Alrighty," he takes another moment, "Did you use condom?"

"Minho, I'm telling you I don't remember having sex, how do you expect me to know if I used protection?"

"I'm just saying... Imagine if you got her pregnant."

Thomas pales at that statement. Shit. _Shit!_ He hadn't really thought about that! He was so worried about what had happened and how, that he didn't thought about that!

"Oh no. Thomas.exe just stopped functioning." he heard Minho say beside him.

And maybe he was right. He just sat still for a couple of minutes before he fell on his back and stared at the ceiling. Minho stayed with him until he composed himself again.

 

* * *

 

Hours later at the Hale house, Stiles was over the kitchen with both Lydia and Malia. The brunet girl was on the counter eating some of the hamburgers Stiles had made for dinner, while Lydia and the older brunet were talking about Thomas near the living room. The front door opened and Derek and Isaac entered the house as the other two watch them.

"Hey," Derek walked towards his husband and gave him a peck on the lips before taking his coat off. He glanced at the stairs, "How is he?"

"Still over his room."

"You know, we should do something about it."

Stiles frowns, "What do you think I've been doing while you were at work?"

"Hamburgers!" said Malia from the kitchen.

"Besides that."

Derek rolls his eyes, "Well, he's been mopping several days now. I think it's time for him to stop and get himself together."

Stiles stops the dark haired man from going upstairs, putting a hand over his bicep.

"Said the father who is a complete asshole." he crosses his arms, "Derek, you can't say that to someone who is sad, especially if they are your own son."

"Then what do you suggest?"

"I don't know! Parenting doesn't come with a manual, okay?"

"Then let me try it." he tries to pass from his husband, but Stiles doesn't let him.

"No,"

"Yes,"

_"Derek."_

_"Genim."_

"Don't _'Genim'_ me!"

"Oh, maybe you prefer your other name?"

Stiles stiffs at that and shuts his mouth. With his eyes he tells his husband to shush but it's too late. Isaac frowns,

"Wait, I thought your name was _'Genim'_."

Stiles sends a glare to his husband and then looks back at the other male, "No, that's my... middle name."

"Then what is your first name?"

Lydia grins at him, waiting for him to say it aloud. She has known his name since third grade and she is one of the couple of persons who can pronounce his name, the others being his dad, Derek, Scott and his mom. He can feel Derek's eyes on him too, the traitor. Stiles just sighs and decides to finish with this,

"Mieczysław,"

Isaac frowns, "Mie.. czy- _what_?"

"Mieczysław Genim." says Lydia with perfect pronunciation, looking proud behind him with a smile.

The older brunet points at her, "What she said."

Isaac stares at them, trying to process the name but he can't. "That's your whole name? That's how your parents named you, really?" he frowns again and looks at Derek, "What was Thomas' full name again?"

"Thomas Alexander." answers Derek.

"Oh, thank God." both dads send him a look, "No offense, man."

Isaac's saved by the bell when Derek's phone rings. He holds a finger to the sandy blonde like telling him 'this isn't over' or 'don't move from there' and answers his phone,

"Hale. Mike, what is it?" he stops for a moment to hear the man on the other line, "Summers, huh? Listen, man. I don't have time for- He did what?" he frowns, "Okay, okay! I'll be there in five minutes. Just don't move his head away from the freezer!" the three adults and the young woman over the kitchen stare at him with confused looks. Derek hangs up and turns to Stiles, "Work calls."

Both Lydia and Isaac look at each other with an eyebrow up.

Derek walks to the counter and grabs the car keys, and puts his phone inside his jacket. "Listen, I have to go and take care of this, but if something happens call me. Alright?"

Stiles nods, "Yeah,"

Derek gives him a kiss on the lips and walks to the door, exiting his house. As they hear the engine and the car driving away, Lydia is the first one to speak again.

"Well, that was fun. Unfortunately I must go too." she grabs her purse from the couch. She walks to Stiles and grabs his hand, "If anything happens please let me know how I can help, ok?" Stiles nods. "Come on, Malia."

The brunet girl frowns, "I want to stay here."

"Why?"

She raises the half-eaten hamburger on her right hand, "There's food."

Lydia chuckles and rolls her eyes, but she accepts. She walks towards her daughter, kisses the top of her head and then walks to the door.

"I'll come back for her in a few hours, okay? Bye, everyone!"

After she left, Stiles went to move back to the kitchen but stopped mid-track after he realized something. He turned around and found Isaac standing in the middle of the living room, looking around.

The sandy blonde looks sheepishly at him, "So, I was actually going to buy some coffee. Do you want any?"

"Mocha frappuccino, please."

Isaac nods and he looks over the girl on the counter. "Malia?"

"A caramel frappuccino, and one of those small chocolate chips cookies they sell too." she said with a big smile.

"...Okay." he chuckled, "I'll be right back." he walked to the door and leaved.

Stiles turns back to the kitchen counter and sees Malia smiling, still eating her hamburger.

"What?"

"I got hamburgers and a caramel frappuchino. I love spending the afternoon here."

Stiles laughs at that. He walks back to the kitchen and is opening the fridge when he hears a knock over the door. He frowns and looks at the Malia.

"That was quick." says Malia.

Stiles laughs again and walks to the door. "Isaac? Did you forgot something?" he went to open the door and to his surprise he found Brenda standing over the entrance, holding her purse and smiling.

"Mr. Hale, hi." she enters the house, even though she wasn't invited. Stiles stays in his place and he doesn't have any other choice than to close the door and turn to the girl.

"Excuse me, what are you doing here?" he asks trying not to sound rude.

"I'm here to see Thomas." she tries to look around the house, "Is he here?"

Stiles didn't move for a second, his mind trying to process something. His eyes shined for a moment, and his lips made a thin line,

"Brenda, right?" the girl nods, "Could you just wait for a sec, I won't be late."

"Sure, Mr. Hale." she says smiling. Stiles then goes upstairs, leaving Brenda in the living room looking around, and noticing Malia sitting on the kitchen counter. She forced a smile, "Malia."

"Bite me."

Once upstairs, Stiles approaches Thomas' room and sees that the door is slightly ajar, so he decides to just peek in case the brunet was asleep. He peeks inside the room and sees that Thomas was not only awake, but sitting on the edge of the bed with his back at the door and was on the phone. Maybe he was talking to Newt. Maybe things would get better. That's what Stiles thinks but he knows it's not like that; Thomas isn't talking, and the speaker is on so he can hear everything from where he is standing.

_"Sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service, or temporarily disconnected-"_

Stiles saw the way his son's back changed from stiff to a little bit more loose, but not because it was a good sign. It was because he had sighed in defeat. Not his first call, it seemed.

He hears the 'beep' sound to record your message, and that's when Thomas speaks,

"Hey... it's me. Again. I know that for sure you aren't gonna be hearing this... like the other messages I left but, umm," he clears his throat, "it would make me so happy if you did, and then, if you wanted... y-you could call me back. I really want to see you again. And talk to you again. And be able to touch you. Or just... being able to be anywhere near you." his voice cracks, "So, you know the drill, like I said in the messages before this one. No pressures. If you don't want to, i-it's okay..." there's a pause and Stiles thinks he's about to say goodbye and hang up, but there's more. "No. No, it's not okay." he sobs, "It can't be okay if it feels this way... Please, just call me once. I want to- I _need_ to hear your voice... _please_. Please, please, _please_." he murmurs the 'please' so quick and low that it breaks the older brunet's heart.

Stiles decided to stop hearing his son break in pieces in his room, and remembers the annoying girl in the living room, so he goes downstairs. Brenda is still standing where she was, looking at her manicured fingernails, ignoring the murder looks Malia was giving to her.

Once he was downstairs, the girl looks up at him and puts on a fake smile,

"So?"

"Thomas is at his room."

"Okay." she says and turns, ready to walk to the stairs and go upstairs when a hand wraps around her arm, stopping her. She looks at Stiles,

"I think you misunderstood." he lets go of her, "Thomas is at his room because you wouldn't leave him alone, and had to ruin his relationship. My son is sitting over his bed on his room alone, feeling miserable because you couldn't keep your claws away from him, even thought he was taken, even thought he rejected you. And you have the audacity to come here and try to see him?" his eyes were cold. "I want you to get the hell out of my house."

She looks taken back. "What?"

"You heard me, and I'll tell you something else." he gives a few steps forward to the girl, "I know there's people who are mean, disgusting, selfish, and just wish to see the rest of the people miserable because they feel that way. And you young woman," he smiles as if it was normal conversation, "You are on the top of the list."

Brenda tries not to look offended, but miserably fails, "You know what? I'm out of here. Not worth it." she grabs her purse and walks towards the door, Stiles follows and opens the door for her to leave.

As the door is closing, Malia yells "That's right, go back to Babylon, you whore!" from the kitchen counter with her mouth full. Stiles walks towards her and gives her a high-five.

 

* * *

 

At the Reed house, Andrew and Allison were over the dining room; the woman was drinking coffee while checking something over her laptop, while the brunet man was doing some math while checking the payments. Newt came downstairs and looked over his parents from the stairs. He took a moment, breathing slowly before he approaches his parents at the table. Andrew looks up after noticing his son, and Allison watches his husband change his posture and looking at something behind her. The brunet woman turns and they both look at their son.

"Hey, kid. How was the shower?" asks Andrew as he adjusts his glasses.

"Great," he clasps his hands together, "Mom, dad. Can I ask you both for a favor?"

Allison smiles at him, "Sure, honey. What is it?"

Newt takes a moment before he starts. "I've been thinking about it for the past days, which I take as a progress since the only thing I could do the first days was cry my eyes out." he knows he shouldn't have said that, not that his parent's doesn't already know. "I know it might sound crazy because there's just a week for graduation and I know you were planning on having a family vacation before I started college," his mom gives him a smile, "but I feel like I really need this. I..." he looks down at his hands, which he didn't notice he started playing with; he looks at both of them in the eyes and firmly he says,

"I want to go back to England."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know. You hate me and want to see me dead. Well, you can't always get what you want! And I think that phrase is perfect for this whole drama, don't you think? No? Still sensitive? ...Ookay.
> 
> Oh, and I took that "He would send me these messages saying, 'please send me hourly text reminders for the rest of the evening about how I am going to go to jail/hell for perving on a fifteen year old boy in swim shorts'." sentence from a Sterek fic called "Love Comes in Spurts", so chill, I'm not stealing anything.


	46. Love Will Keep Us Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The penultimate chapter, guys. It's finally here.  
> I think it's a little short and kinda in a rush but I really hope you like it!

_"Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don't know how to replenish its source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of witherings, of tarnishing." - Anaïs Nin._

 

 

The clock on the wall continued ticking, making it the only sound that was heard in the whole house. Not even the laptop on the dining table was making any noise. The ticking continued. Newt didn't move from where he was standing, staring right at his parents. Both adults stare at him, not moving at all. For a moment they thought it was a joke or something, but seeing their son's serious face they knew he meant it. Andrew's eyes look at his wife as she's still staring at Newt.

Allison shushes her husband, thinking about how to scold him later for making that 'that's insane' gesture with the pencil. After putting her coffee down, she turns again to face her son. "Uh, why is that, honey?"

"I just... I don't feel happy. Don't feel comfortable here. It doesn't mean I'm not coming back; of course I will. It's just... I need some time away from here."

Andrew puts the pencil down on the table, "Does it has to do anything with Thomas?"

Newt doesn't answers, but that is enough answer.

The blonde sighs, "I'm not... escaping from my problems, ok? I just really need some time away. To think."

Allison bites her lips; she turns her head to her husband and they seem to have a telepathically conversation. Something married couples do. After they're done, she turns back to Newt,

"We'll see what we can do. I'm not promising anything, ok?"

He nods, "Yeah. Thanks." and with that he turned around and went upstairs to his room.

Once they had made sure that Newt was on his room with the door closed, Allison turned back to face her husband. Andrew let out a sigh,

"Well, that was..."

"Unexpected?"

"I was gonna say 'intense', but 'unexpected' is also correct." they stay in silence for almost a minute before Andrew speaks again, "So, are we even gonna considerate it or we're just gonna pretend we thought about this through when actually we were gonna say 'no' since the beginning?"

"I think we should considerate it." says Allison. "It's not as if he's leaving forever, you know? And he's not gonna be alone, your parents are there. Plus, we do have some savings that we could use in the moment and... I mean... Do you want to continue seeing Newt like that?"

Andrew grimaces, "No parent likes it when their kids are hurting, you know that."

"Then I think we have an answer." he nods. "But for now, let's leave him rest." they both look at the stairs.

 

* * *

 

Two days later and everything was the same... or worst, at least for Thomas. He didn't knew but Newt's parents had decided to let him go to England at least until graduation. At the library, Teresa was putting in order some book at the corner. Aris was on his break, and was sitting over the front counter while texting Gally, a smile on his face. 'That dork.' she thought. She glanced at her own boyfriend, who was currently sitting on the floor talking to her as she ordered the bookshelves.

"So as I was saying, I'm gonna stay two or three hours at the coffee shop for some extra hours." he said standing up.

"Okay. I'll just finish with this bookshelf and then I'm gonna go with Thomas and spend some time with him."

They walked towards the door so Teresa could say goodbye to her boyfriend while she stayed at her work.

"Okay. I have to go to work, but hey, when I finish I'll leave my car at the shop and then go with you and Thomas. Okay?"

"Okay." answered back Teresa with a cheeky smile. Minho seemed to understand and he felt a smile of his own appear on his face.

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Godammit, this is not The Fault in Our Stars! Stop it!" Minho exclaimed, laughing.

"...Okay." she managed through fits of laughter. Minho smiled and brought her closer so he could kiss her. "See you later."

"Yeah,"

And with that Minho went to his car, climbed in and drove away. Teresa smiled as he left, and then she went back to the library.

 

* * *

 

An hour or so at the Hale house, Thomas was over his room, wrapped up in his covers and watching some TV when he heard a soft knocking over his door, the door opening revealing Teresa.

"Knock, knock," she peeked her head in, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure."

The raven girl entered the room, holding her bag close to her body as she watched her best friend over bed, eyes glued to the TV.

"What is it, Teresa? If this is another of your attempts to make me get out of bed then I'm gonna have to pass, I'm interested in watching this program."

Teresa glanced at the TV and after a few seconds she turned back to look at the brunet,

"Tom, you are watching golf."

"....Please kill me."

Teresa chuckles, taking a step closer to the bed, "I'm not going to kill you. But I am going to help, at my way, of course." at the brunet's confused look, she continued, "We are going to do some serious emotional surgery tonight."

Thomas whined, "Teresa, I don't-

 _"Emotional surgery I said!"_ Teresa interrupted forcefully, "And our tools will be named Ben and Jerry's, hot chocolate and The Sound of Music." she said with a smile.

She then sat on the bed and proceeded to take everything out of her bag, passing the ice-cream to Thomas as she took out the spoons and the movie. She gave him a side smile as she got up and went to put the movie in the DVD. Thomas sat there on his bed holding the ice-cream in one hand; as he watched the girl over the TV a smile appeared on his face. He felt bad that his friends were spending all their free time trying to cheer him up. They were good friend. He didn't deserve them, as he didn't deserve Newt.

 

* * *

 

At the coffee shop, Minho was behind the counter, serving the female customer with a small son; she was paying her American coffee and her son's caramel frappuchino. After she finished, she said goodbye and left. Minho turned around to wipe some of the whipped cream that had fallen over the counter on his back. The bell on the door rang, announcing a new customer arriving, so Minho turned around and saw a familiar face. Alby. The dark skinned guy approached the counter and once he saw it was Minho, he smiled.

Minho held his hand to bump fists, "Hey, you. It's strange seeing you around here. I think it's the second time you've come here to buy coffee."

Alby chuckles, "Yeah, I'm actually going to meet Ben at the park to check some college applications so I decided to bring some coffee."

"Nice." as he wrote down Alby's order, he continued talking, "So, how's everything going?"

"If you mean Newt, I'll just tell you I'm this close to shoving my shoe up to Thomas' ass."

"Yeah, but haven't we all at some point?" he said with a grin.

After he made Alby's order and gave them to the other guy, he waited as Alby paid. While Minho opened the cash register to give him his change, Alby went to open his mouth to speak; he looks uncertain for a moment, even glancing over his shoulder as if someone would hear him.

"So, I know I shouldn't say anything because if Newt finds out he will kill me for sure." that caught Minho's attention, who gave him his change and waited for the other to continue. Fortunately there wasn't anyone behind Alby.

"Newt's leaving."

Minho stays still, not expecting that. He blinks a few times as he finds his voice again, "Leaving?"

"Yeah. He's going back to England."

"Wha- why- how?" he holds his hands to stop Alby from speaking again. The 'why and how' weren't important right now. "When is he leaving?"

"Today."

 ** _"TODAY?!"_** he yells, making everyone in the coffee shop turn their heads at them, "Alby, those things are told with at least a day of anticipation!"

Alby raises both hands up, "Hey, don't kill the messenger! He just told me in the morning; he called and told me, and begged me not to tell a soul. He also wanted me to update him in everything that happened until graduation."

"Oh my god." Minho looks around, "Oh my god, oh my god," he starts taking off his apron, "I need to tell Thomas. I need to-" he points at the dark-skinned guy, "Don't tell Newt I'm telling Thomas!"

"Why would I do that? He would find out that I told you."

Minho peeked his head into the back part of the coffee shop, yelling to someone _'I need to leave! It's an emergency! Tell Nancy I'll be back for when her shift is over!'_ and then grabbed his car keys, and came out of behind the counter, ready to leave the shop. But he stopped for a moment to see Alby still standing in his place, not even grabbing his coffee and something came to his mind,

"You aren't going to meet Ben today, isn't it?"

"Of course I am. But maybe this time it wasn't my turn to bring the coffee." he says with a knowing smile.

Minho smiles back. _'Thanks, man.'_ and runs out of the coffee shop and towards his car.

As he walked towards where he parked his car, he took out his phone to try and dial Thomas or Teresa, but his phone was dead. Great. He was so busy worrying about the new infromation he had received that he almost collided with someone if the other person hadn't putted their hands on his chest to stop him. He looked up and meet with Sonya, who was putting a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

She smiles, "Hey, you. I was actually going to the coffee shop to talk to you."

"Hey, Sonya. Sorry, I can't talk right now, kind in the middle of an existential crisis with the whole Brenda subject and Thomas about to shot himself in the face, so..." he says in a hurry as he tries to walk away.

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk at you about."

Minho stops and turns around to stare at the blonde girl.

 

* * *

 

Back at the Hale house, Teresa and Thomas were over the brunet's bed, eating popcorn, the empty container of ice-cream over Thomas' nightstand, and covered in blankets. They had finished watching The Sound of Music, Just Like Heaven, and were currently ending Moulin Rouge.

Thomas speaks first, "Don't get me wrong, but I feel like a girl watching these movies."

"Yeah, me too."

They laugh at that. They stay in silence after that, watching as the credits roll, and then Teresa speaks again.

"So? How're you feeling?"

"You want the truth or want me to be condescending?" Teresa hits him with a pillow. "Sorry! I just... I don't know. I feel like I shouldn't be lying on bed. Instead I should be out there or something."

"Doing what?"

"I don't know. Something so Newt forgives me? So he at least hears me out?" he sighs, "I don't know why I bother." he shakes his head, "What am I doing? Expecting a miracle?"

In that moment they hear the sound of a door being slammed closed and they frown. Were Thomas' dads home?

_"Thomas!"_

Teresa frowns, "Was that Minho?"

"I don't think so, he's at work right now."

The door of his bedroom slams open and the two of them turn to look at the bedroom entrance where Minho was. He was panting for air, a hand on his chest.

 _"Thomas!"_ he yelled again.

"Minho, what are you doing here? Weren't you at work?"

"More importantly... how did you got into my house-

He approaches the bed, "Yes, I was at work but now I'm here acting as a fairy godmother to this shank who doesn't need to know the answer to that question." he looks at Thomas, ready to tell him the reason he came all the way here in his almost dying car.

"Min, I appreciate that you came all the way here, but I'm really not in the mood right now."

"No, Thomas you don't understand! I-

"Please, just... Leave me alone to drown in my misery."

Minho stares at his best friend, not batting an eye for a couple of seconds before he turns his head to the right, eyes closed and mouth in a thin line, and the next second he launches at Thomas, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and brings him closer to his face. Both Thomas and Teresa are startled by the sudden move and Minho's furious face.

"Listen to me, shuckface." he spats. "Yeah, I get it. You feel like shit. So does Newt. And you feel like the whole freaking universe is against you. Well, flash news! Life sucks. But that doesn't mean it always has to. Yeah, you haven't had your best days these last days but nobody's perfect! Everyone screws up!" he takes air, "But this time you didn't, okay?!"

Thomas frowned confused, "What do you mean?"

The raven male lets go of him, "I ran into Sonya a few minutes ago. She told me that Brenda told her the truth. That you two didn't slept together!"

"Wha-

"Shut up and listen! She said that Brenda complained that she didn't got to get into your pants, but at least she made you and everyone else think that!"

"Kudos to Sonya." says Teresa with a smile.

As Minho takes some air, Thomas starts processing everything that his friend just told him. He blinks a few times and speaks,

"B-but we were in bed at my room... I was naked, and so was she."

Minho rolls his eyes in annoyance, "Yeah, you can't hold you alcohol, buddy, we all know that. You went to your room and she followed you and tried to seduce you. Unfortunately for her you're too gay for Newt, so you didn't do anything. Then you passed out on your bed half naked and she took the chance and slipped in bed with you so the next morning you'd think you had sex."

"How is it that so much evil fit into such a small body?" asks more to herself Teresa.

"So I didn't slept with Brenda?"

"No."

"I didn't cheat on Newt?"

"No."

"I didn't slept with Brenda, nor I cheated on Newt?"

"Does not getting enough sun affected your brain? No, you didn't."

"I think you broke him." says the raven girl behind a playful smile.

The relief that went through Thomas quickly disappeared and his face fell again.

"I doesn't matter. He won't believe me. He won't even talk to me, let aside explain something." he shakes his head, "I'll just... wait for him to get a little less angry at me and then I'll try to explain."

Minho shakes his head, "Thomas, that's the other thing I came here for. As soon as I found out I practically dropped everything and came running here."

"What is it?" asks the girl.

"Newt. He's leaving for London... right now."

Teresa's eyes widen, _"What?!"_

"Yeah, Alby told me. He went to the coffee shop and said Newt would kill him if he knew he talked but... he had to. He's taking a plane at five o' clock."

With that said Teresa turned to look at the clock alarm that Thomas had on his nightstand and saw the time. She then turned to Thomas,

"Thomas, didn't you heard what Minho just said?"

Thomas looked at her and opened his mouth to say something but nothing came out. He shut his mouth and shook his head.

Minho rolls his eyes and clears his throat, "Okay. Stop the pity party for a sec, yeah? Everybody makes mistakes. We are human, alright? But the good thing in making mistakes is that you can learn from them."

Teresa smiles at her boyfriend, "Wow, Min. That's deep."

He shrugs, "I'm not just handsome. I'm the whole package." he turns back to Thomas, "You know you didn't do anything wrong, and even if you did you would recognize it. You also love Newt, right?"

"Yeah."

"I can't hear you."

"Yeah."

_"Still can't hear ya!"_

_"YES! I love him!"_ yells Thomas.

"So why the hell are you still doing here?! _Go!_ Go get your man, _will ya?!_ "

Thomas stares at his best friend and nods with decision, getting up from his bed and dropping the covers to the floor. He quickly grabs his shoes and puts them on, not bothering in changing clothes. He didn't had time for that. He ran past Minho and Teresa and went downstairs, practically jumping the stairs. He went to the counter to grab his motorbike keys and then leap to the door, opening and exiting his house -not closing the door as he exits. Just as he was going to walk to his motorbike and hop on it he found his usual spot empty.

_'But where-_

He remembered and groaned. His motorbike was over the shop and neither of his dads were home. He didn't had a vehicle to get to the airport. Shit!

 _"Hey, Minho!"_ he yelled over his shoulder and heard the footsteps running towards him. He turned and saw Minho and Teresa, "Quick! I need to use your car!"

"Dude, nothing would make me more happy to let you use my car, but I don't think it'll make it to the airport. I was actually supposed to take it to the shop after work."

Thomas groaned and then turned to the raven girl, "Teresa, your car keys!"

Teresa smiled sheepishly, "Aris borrowed my car."

Minho looks at her, "What?"

"Yeah, I went to pick him up and he left me here and then leaved."

"Really?" Minho sighs, still looking at his girlfriend. He went to turn around to face his friend, "Thomas, I'm sorry but it looks like- Thomas?" Thomas wasn't behind him. He looked around and saw Thomas running away to the main street. Nothing was gonna stop him. _"WHOOO! GO, THOMAS!"_

Thomas ran and ran, faster than he could. He knew that even if he could, he would never get to the airport on time just by running. So his next best option was get a cab. Get a cab as fast as he could. He stopped in the sidewalk and saw as some cars passed by, including taxis.

"TAXI!" yelled Thomas raising his hand, trying to take a taxi. Not even a single car stopped. Thomas groan, closing his eyes. _'Come on! Come on! I don't have time for this!_ ' Miraculously as if he had said a prayer and was heard, a taxi stops and he doesn't lose more time and hops on, telling -practically yelling- the driver "To the airport. Please hurry!"

The taxi drove its way to the airport. Thomas stirred in his seat, he haven't been this nervous since he was seven and had to take a flight with Uncle Scott and Aunt Lydia. Boy, he had been scared. But now... now he was _terrified_. Would he arrive at time? And if he did... what would Newt do? Go back with him or leave? He glanced outside the window and noticed it had started raining. _'Perfect. Just perfect!'_ He looked at his watch. 04:29 p.m. Newt's flight leaved at 5:00 p.m. _'Come on, come on, come on!'_

After long and agonizing minutes, the taxi arrived at the airport, but couldn't approach the entrance as there were many cars there, leaving and picking up people. Thomas contemplated the idea of running towards the entrance but he didn't have an umbrella to shelter himself from rain. He looked at his watch. 4:49 p.m.

_'Forget the rain, rain never hurt anyone.'_

He got out of the car and, as the rain pour down him completely wetting him, he paid the taxi driver. Thomas looked into his pocket -the water dripping from his hair blurring his vision- for his wallet and when he found it, there was only a 200 bill. _'Fuck me!'_ He moans in despair as he handed the bill to the driver.

"Just a minute, your change." said the man as he searched for the money.

 _'Come on, come on! Hurry!'_ Thomas sighs in exasperation, looking from the driver to the airport. "Keep the change!" he said as he ran away from the taxi, running towards the airport entrance. He heard the faintly _'it's over $100 tip!'_ from the taxi driver but he couldn't care less. There were more important things right now.

When he entered the airport, his body felt like it was attacked by mini blades because of the clash of cold inside the airport, and the wetness of his body. He shook it off and ran towards the waiting room. He arrived at the waiting room and was received by many looks from the people, looking at his wet self. Thomas saw too many people there; some sited other standing up. No signals of the blonde. The clock marked 5:05 p.m. and he panicked. _'Just look the departures! Departures, Thomas!'_ He raised his head and he sees the flap display, and starts looking for the blonde's flight.

 

**_Flight AA8343 to London ---_ ** **_Departure._**

 

The air in the waiting room felt a little heavier than just a second ago. Thomas couldn't believe it. He was late. After all he went through he was late. Uncle Peter was right: life did suck. Why did he thought it would be like in the movies? That he would arrive just in time to see Newt about to board the plane and he would run towards him, passing the security guards and getting to the blonde's side just with enough time to declare his undying love for him. And then Newt would forgive him and they would live happily ever after.

_Bullshit._

Thomas lowered his head and looked at the ground, little drops of water falling from his hair to the cold floor. Defeated, he began to walk back to the entrance without any kind of hurry. He went out of the airport, not caring that the rain still poured. He was already wet. He walked down the street, passing some cars as he was ready to take a taxi.

 _'Shit, I don't have any more money. I gave everything I had to the taxi driver.'_ Maybe he could walk to his house. _'Yeah, right. You are a good runner but not that good, Thomas. Besides, you'll die the first hour and a half walking towards there.'_

But nothing really mattered to him. Not now.

_"Taxi!"_

Thank God that he wasn't that depressed to not notice and hear a familiar voice with an accent. _That_ accent. Thomas heart flipped as he turned around and searched where that voice came from. Even with the people, the cars and the rain blurring everything around him, there, at the other side of the street was Newt, holding an umbrella and raising his other hand as a taxi stopped beside him. The blonde opened the door, ready to put his luggage inside and then himself. He didn't care right now why the Brit was at the street and not in a plane ready to leave Thomas' life. Thomas couldn't let it happen. Not now. He won't lose him again.

 _"NEWT!"_ he yelled top of his lungs. His yell made a few heads turn and look at him, including the most important and the only one Thomas cared.

The blonde turned around at the mention of his name and his gaze fell on the brunet standing in the middle of the rain. His eyes were opened like two plates and his mouth open a little and then closed, then again and again. He looked like a fish out of the water. The brunet swore he saw Newt mouthing _'Thomas'_.

Thomas starts walking calmly towards him; the blonde does the same thing, umbrella still covering him. Thomas quickened his pace the same moment Newt did. Now they were running towards each other with agitated breaths, the rain hitting harshly at their faces. They stopped when they reached the other and stood there, just looking at each other without saying anything. It wasn't necessary; the brunet had gone to the airport to stop Newt, and the blonde had missed his flight to go back with Thomas for whatever reason it was.

Thomas doesn't loses any more time and leans -more like launches- over at Newt's lips, capturing them with his own. He grabs the blonde's face, almost like cupping it but more desperately. At the moment he do that, Newt putted his arms around the brunet's neck, pulling him more close to his body and letting go of the umbrella. This fell at the ground near a pond as they embrace, the rain falling on them and in the middle of the street.

 

_"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." - Corinthians 13:4-8_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you guys love me now? Well, then you're gonna love me more in the next and final chapter.  
> Prepare yourselves for next Friday, 'cus it will be the end of this fic. But don't be sad, because once this finishes, I will begin another Newtmas fic. The one with magic and supernatural elements.


	47. The Next Chapter of Their Lives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this chapter I now declare this story/fic officially complete!  
> Thank you so much to everyone who read this fic since the beginning, and especially the ones who read the Sterek one first and then followed up this!! It has been a pleasure to write this Newtmas story, and to have you like it, sometimes hate it and especially love it, but everything good gotta come to an end, right? It makes me so happy knowing that my story made all of you happy. I'll try to make my stories have the same impact ;)
> 
> Sorry for taking too long with the final chapter!! But I didn't knew how to conect all the parts and then some stuff happened and puff! Anyways, I'll leave you with an early Christmas present; this chapter is for everyone who reads this story! THANK YOU SO MUCH! And I hope we can see each other again at another story! :D  
> Now, I'll let you enjoy the final chapter~

_"Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow know what you truly want to become." - Steve Jobs._

 

After Thomas went for Newt at the airport, the blonde told him that he hadn't been able to get in the plane, practically running away when the lady asked to see his ticket. Even not knowing the truth, he loved and trusted Thomas, and he was gonna stay and try to make their relationship work. When Thomas told him that it all had been Brenda's plan and that they didn't slept together, Thomas and Newt didn't had anything else to say. With stupid in love smiles they went back to Beacon Hills and decided to make up for the lost time... Just to say that they kicked Minho out of his apartment and didn't sleep at all, if you know what I mean.

The day of Graduation had finally arrived. Everyone was excited about it and were preparing everything, from their clothes to what to say to their teachers and other graduates. Well, almost everyone. Back at the Hale house, Thomas was lying on his bed completely asleep and snoring so loudly he didn't heard the phone -the one from the house- ringing on his room. When no one answered, the answer machine beeped and Minho's voice was heard over the room,

_"Thomas, this is the third message I leave you! Where the hell are you?! We're already here and you should be here too! You're not going to miss your own graduation! Your boyfriend is about to have an aneurysm if you aren't here in minutes! You hear me? Minutes! So move your lazy ass and GET READY!"_ the machine fell silent.

Thomas sat in a single move on his bed, pillow marks all over the side of his face and he turned to look at his alarm. Why was Minho yelling at him if it was 7:42 a.m.? Frowning at the hour, he gave the machine a simple knock and then the hour changed to the correct one. It was 8:38 a.m. and the ceremony started at 9 o'clock.

"Shit!"

He sprang from bed, tossing the sheets aside and then ran to the bathroom. He wouldn't have time to take a shower, so he just washed his face and brushed his teeth. He ran back to his room and started looking for his graduation gown all over the place. He managed to find it and changed, tried to comb his hair and went downstairs to grab something quick to eat before telling his dads to take him to the school and- oh, fuck. He had told his dads he would go later than them and that they should go ahead first. What the hell was he thinking?! Now he would have to drive to the school wearing his gown. He groaned but neither less grabbed his helmet and ran to the door, exiting his house.

Several minutes later, Thomas managed to get to school. He parked his bike and ran to the back part of the school where he saw a bunch of seniors in their gowns, already entering to the auditorium through the back door. He also saw his group of friends, looking at their watches with worry, obviously waiting for him.

"I'm here! I'm here!" he yelled and his friends turned to look at him. He arrived at their side, coughing from running so fast. "Sorry! Sorry! I overslept!"

"You don't say?" Minho raised an eyebrow.

Thomas gave his best friend a look, but shook it off. The rest started to enter the auditorium as Newt approached his boyfriend and gave the brunet a quick peck on the lips.

"Sorry I'm late."

Newt smiled at him, "It's alright. At least you managed to get in time."

"Yeah," he looked at the front and offered his arm to the blonde, "Ready?"

Newt gladly grabbed his arm and nodded, "Ready."

 

* * *

 

Thomas was standing over the podium, looking at the whole auditorium filled with people, everyone's eyes on him. His dads were over the public, smiling proudly at him. Newt and his friends were behind him, sitting in the chairs to wait for their diplomas. Miss Paige had asked him and Teresa a couple of days before if they could both give a speech before the ceremony. Teresa had just said a beautiful speech and here he was, standing awkwardly looking at everyone. Why was he even here? He wasn't that good at talking! He glanced at the principal Paige who smiled at him and gave him a nod as if saying he could do it. He nodded back and looked back at the front, taking air before speaking.

"It has been a long four years, but here we are, ready to graduate. We worked hard to get to this point, but we didn't do it by ourselves. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the following people." he clears his throat, "To our teachers, thank you for so unselfishly sharing you time, talent and knowledge with us. Yes, we know it was your job to do it, but what you did for us went beyond the call of duty. You took the time to explain assignments, sometimes repeatedly because we weren't paying attention." some people chuckle, "You allowed us to come to your classroom after school for extra help when you could have gone home to spend time with your family. You put in the effort to make lessons more interesting so we wouldn't just tune out. You demanded excellence from us whether or not we wanted to give it. You set the bar high and challenged us to live up to it."

He looks at where his parents were, looking at him with a smile on their faces, "To our parents, thank you for supporting us in more ways than it's possible to count. You dragged us out of bed each morning, made sure we were fed and clothed for school." some parents nodded, saying _'that's right!',_ "You herded us out the door to the bus stop or drove us to school yourselves. You helped us with homework, paid our class fees, and listened to our complaints. You commiserated over our daily dramas, but you tried to give us enough space to learn how to work things out for ourselves." he said that part specifically at Stiles, which he knew his pops would understand. "These are just a few of the thousands of ways you've supported us on our journey."

He turns to the left and looks at the principal Paige, "To our principal, vice principal and all the office staff, thank you for keeping things running smoothly so our teachers could concentrate on us. We're better off for it." they nodded at him, especially miss Paige, who was looking at him with soft eyes, "As you can see, behind each graduate there must have been at least a dozen people providing support in at least a dozen ways. The best way we graduates can show our gratitude is to make the most of the opportunity we've been given, and go forward into the world with the intention of making it a better place for the generations that follow us. We'll pay that debt of gratitude forward." he separates from the microphone for a second to take air and then said, "Thank you. I'll leave you with Principal Ava Paige." everyone applauds, his parents and relatives standing up. Stiles and Derek looked so proud, so happy for him. Malia even whistled at him, making him chuckle. Lydia sent him kisses, bringing her hands to her chest, smiling softly.

The Principal approached the podium, making more people to applaud. She smiled politely and raised her hand to make them stop applauding so she could speak. Even standing there, in front of many many people, she didn't lose her poise. "Good afternoon graduates, students, trustees, parents, and friends: Welcome. We are very happy you are all here to share in this celebration of the accomplishments and unique qualities of these fine members of our graduating class." she continued, "A graduation ceremony is always such a special occasion - the culmination of years of hard work; the actualization of goals attained and the acknowledgement of successes achieved. So, it is only fitting that tonight we commemorate the road that we have all traveled together these last few years. Henry Ford wisely said, _'Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress and working together is success.'_ "

She smiles, "The end result Ladies and Gentlemen of our coming together, keeping together and working together, in spite of the obstacles that we may have faced along the way... that end result are these women and men sitting behind me." she looked back at the students, "My, how proud we are of the success that they have made with the opportunities that they were offered. Congratulations, we are inordinately proud of you all!" everybody applauds. The Principal looks at Teresa, who while applauding, mouthed a _'thank you'_ to her.

As the applauds died, the Principal continued, "And now, without further delay, I'll begin calling your names." she looked at the first envelope.

_"Thomas Hale."_

As the brunet walked towards the Principal, applauds coming from both parents and students, were heard. Stiles and Derek were standing up, clapping and looking at their son with proud. Thomas waved at them as he stopped in front of the podium. Principal Paige gave him his diploma and Thomas hugged the Principal, startling her for a second, but she smiled and hugged him too. He raised his diploma in the air as a victory, making a few students to cheer at him. He walked back at his place, right beside Newt. Three more people well called, and also their families applauded at them.

_"Newton Reed."_

Thomas squeezed the blonde's hand and then let go as Newt walked towards the podium, hearing his parents yelling. Four names came afterwards, one of them being Sonya's. Thomas, Newt, Minho, Teresa and the rest of the gang applauded to her. As she walked back to the group, she smiled at them holding her diploma.

_"Minho Lee."_

A group of girls began yelling things like _'I love you!' 'Marry me!' 'Minho!'_ as the Asian male accepted his diploma from the Principal. Both Sonya and Teresa rolled her eyes, turning to look at each other and laughing at their same reaction. He smiled at his parents as they took pictures. He walked back at the group and grabbed Teresa by the waist, pulling her into a deep kiss. There was more cheering, coming from the graduates -including the gang- as they kissed. Some girls were yelling _'No!' 'Why?!'_ and _'I'm so happy he found someone! But why wasn't me?'_

They separated just as the dark haired girl heard _"Teresa Agnes."_ and she walked with a little of stumbling towards the Principal, her cheeks red. Once in front of the woman, Principal Paige cupped Teresa's face in her hands and smiled at her, kissing her forehead before giving her the diploma. Teresa nodded with a smile and returned to her place, beside Minho and Thomas.

_"Aris Jones."_

The lighter brunet took air as he stood up and walked forward, hearing the cheering. He took his diploma from Miss Paige and smiled at her, mouthing 'thanks' as he looked at the front. He bowed his head to the crowd as he tilted his cap, smiling as he did so. As he walked back to the chairs he saw a familiar face: Dan. With his head high, he holds his middle finger at him and flashes him a smirk. He doesn't even look at him as his friends start 'ohhh!' at him, some chuckling and some others patting his arm. Dan must look absolutely pissed. Good.

_"Albert Wagner."_

Alby stood up, gown perfectly kept in place as he walked toward the Principal. He accepted his diploma, hugged the woman and then turned to the crowd. He grinned and held up his arm, showing his diploma in sign of victory; of accomplishment. The gang cheered harder than anyone else.

_"Galileo D'Amico."_

Gally groaned at the mention of his first name. Aris and the gang encouraged him between giggles to get up and go for his diploma. The dirty blonde did so, with the gang clapping and shouting for him. Gally told them to shut it, his face turning red as he accepted his diploma.

After finishing calling the names of the students, Principal Paige cleared her throat, "Ladies and gentlemen. I now present you our fellow graduates."

Everybody stood up, clapping and yelling enthusiastically. The graduates also did that, throwing up at the air their caps and hugging their friends. Thomas hugged Newt, lifting him up while swirling around, making the blonde laugh. As he putted him down, Minho came behind him and jumped on his back laughing. Teresa and Newt hugged, the blonde commenting on how red her face was just a few minutes ago. She shoves him but laughs with him. As Thomas and Minho end their hug, Gally, Alby and Aris approach them, wanting to join the celebration. Minho and Gally fist bumped and hugged sideways while Thomas found himself with his arms full of Aris. The dark skinned guy and the tall dirty blond went for Newt to hug him, making him chuckle at the sudden attack. Teresa and Aris hugged with both their hands over the other's back. After everyone had hug everyone, each of them went to their partner; Thomas grabbing Newt's hand and kissing it, and Minho grabbing Teresa by the waist, bringing her close to him. Gally had an arm draped over Aris' shoulder while the lighter brunet brought his hand up to intertwine their hands. Alby flashed a smile to Ben at the other side of the crowd, where he was being hugged by his parents. The other returned the smile.

"Well, this is it." says Minho, looking at the graduates fooling around and going to their parents.

Thomas nods, "This is it."

Aris speaks next, "What do you think will happen next? I mean, we're going to college, we'll graduate and make our own lives. But what about this?" he means them. All of them.

"What about it?" asks Alby.

Aris goes to speak again but he shakes his head and decides not to. But they all knew what he meant. They stayed in silence for a moment before Thomas spoke,

"It doesn't change." they all look at him, and he continues, "It won't change. We'll always be friends. No matter if we don't go to the same college, or if we don't live in the same city or country... Or even if we don't keep in touch as much as we would like, we'll always be friends."

They all smile, knowing that what he said was true. It did make them feel better when someone said it aloud.

"Geez, Thomas, you're gonna make me cry!" said Minho as he rubbed his eyes, making everyone laugh. Thomas playfully shoved his best friend.

"Alright, alright. Enough with the mellow tune," says Gally, "Who's in for some pizza!" he yelled throwing an arm up.

The rest of the gang raised a hand too and yelled 'I!' and then laughed. Still in the grasp of their respective partner they all walk to the main door, exiting the auditorium and going to the next stage of their lives.

 

* * *

 

**EPILOGUE - 7 YEARS LATER**

_"Life is a dream, realize it." - Mother Theresa._

 

Even though they all had ended up going to the same university, they all choose different careers: Thomas had a big trouble in knowing what he wanted to do for a living but he finally choose marketing -with Minho commenting in how pooped he was gonna be because of the classes-; Newt had choose to major in psychology as he always wanted; Minho surprised everyone when he decided to major in engineering; Teresa choose medicine with a surgical specialty. Aris had majored in English literature and Gally choose marketing too. College was hard. Whenever they weren't studying for an exam or trying to save a class, they would get together and chill.

A year after college, Thomas and Newt got married, and a year after that they had a baby which they named Dylan. Minho laughed for two days since that had been the name they put to the high-tech baby they had to take care of while in highschool. They moved into a nice house with both front and back yard, three bedrooms -one for guests- and a -as Aunt Lydia always says- very nice kitchen. Minho and Teresa had moved in together into an apartment close to Minho's job, and Gally and Airs were leaving in a house by themselves and Aris' cat kittens. Alby had moved away because of a job offer but every time he could come and visit he would do it, and they all could see him.

Christmas was two days away and so everyone was hurried in having all of their presents, decorations, and especially the food. Over the Hale house though the owners weren't there, Minho and Aris were. Gally had gone with Newt for groceries and so the other two stayed 'cus they had things to do. The Brit blonde raised an eyebrow at that suspicious tone but he took the baby with him just in case. Not that he didn't trust his friends, but they both were a danger sometimes and they knew it. A couple of hours later, the two blonde's returned to the Hale house, Gally entering first as Newt got Dylan out of his seat. Minho and Aris were sitting in the living room with a bunch of unassembled pieces from a toy Minho had bought for Dylan a few weeks ago. They were trying to make the pieces fall in place, but by the look in their faces they didn't seem to go so well. They looked like they could just burst into tears... or kill someone with Minho's car.

Gally puts the groceries over the kitchen counter and walks to the living room, "Hey," he looks at the pieces on the floor, "How are you doing?"

Minho gives him a glare and then proceeds to read aloud the instructions, " _'Gently forward piece to coupling for together with warning about many danger.'_ " he huffs in anger, "What the hell does that mean? I mean, how did China take over the world with instructions like these?!"

Newt enters the house, closing the door behind him while holding the baby close to his chest. As soon as he enters the living room, he sees all the mess in there.

_"What happened?!"_ he asks with a thick accent.

Minho turned his head towards him and he sprang to his feet, already walking to Newt with a smile and holding his arms for the baby.

"Hi, Dylan!" Minho grabs the baby from Newt's hands and starts rocking him, "Ready to go with Uncle Min to the gym? You're gonna get so buff all the girls are gonna be around you," he turns to Newt, "or boys." he winks at the blonde, who just chuckles.

Newt's phone starts ringing, so he takes it out of his pocket and looks at the name on the screen. A smile appears over his face at seeing his husband's name. "That's Thomas." he answers his phone, "Hello~"

_"Hey, how are my two favorite boys?"_

"We're fine, thank you." said Minho while rocking the baby in his arms.

_"...Please someone smack him on the nape."_

Gally just brought his hand and did it. Minho groaned and Thomas was happy.

_"Anyway, I got out early so I'm already on my way home."_

"Really? Well, Minho is taking Dyl to the gym for a little. Maybe we can look something to do just the two of us." he says with a sultry tone.

He heard Thomas held a groan in his throat. _"Newt, don't tease me. I'm a weak man."_

"Dear god, there's a baby in here!" said the Asian male as he took a step away, bringing Dylan closer to his chest and covering his ear.

The couple over the phone ignored him.

"Ok. See you at home, Tommy."

_"Can't wait. I love you."_

"I love you too."

He hangs up and turned back to Minho, who was rocking the baby while talking to Gally.

"Ready to go?"

"Yep, I'll be gone and back before you notice." he raises the baby so he's facing him, "I'll come back, little guy. Just be still and be good with your daddy, okay?" he kissed Dylan's cheek and the baby made a happy noises. He then gives the baby to Newt, who cradles him on his arms.

As they are doing that, Gally's eyes fall over the figure of his partner still on the floor with the pieces of the toy on the floor. Gally approaches Aris staring at two pieces in his hands, like if they were something important and he couldn't tear his eyes away. The tall blonde kneels and grabs the instructions beside the lighter brunet, "Okay," and reads it aloud, " _To make seat with secure to fasten red pin 'B' to happy."_ confused, he looks over at the lighter brunet.

Aris is looking away with an angry face, "Don't even look at me, don't even look over here."

"It's just a toy, you know."

Aris turns to look at him and his eyes scream _'If I weren't that busy with this, I would gladly kick you in the nuts.'_ Gally pales.

"I get it. You're an airplane propeller and I'm about to walk into you, so I'm gonna take a step back." he says taking a step back with both hands up. He yells over his shoulder, "Hey, Min! You need a ride?"

_"Sure!"_

He turns to his partner. "Gotta go." he leans forward to give Aris a kiss on the cheek.

"Nice save."

And with that Gally runs to the door and exits the house.

 

* * *

 

Teresa is alone at the bathroom over her and Minho's apartment. She is sitting over the tub's edge, playing nervously with her hands as time passes by. She looks at her wrist watch and taps the floor impatiently. She bites her lips as she looks around the room and at the pregnancy test that lies on the sink. Looking again at her watch and seeing that it was time, she puts her palms on her jeans to steady herself as she stands up and walks to the sink. She takes the stick in her hands and holds it up, looking at the blue line that had appeared. She stays still for a moment before the corner of her lips go up, forming a smile.

Gally and Minho arrive at where Minho's apartment was but they park on the other side of the street. As Gally turns off the motor, Minho takes his seatbelt and says, "Let me just grab my stuff and I'll be back so you can take me and Dylan to the gym."

Gally frowns, "That was not part of the plan."

"It wasn't?" he grins and winks at the tall blonde before getting out of the car. Gally follows.

They wait for the traffic light to change into red so Minho can cross the street and walk towards his apartment. The raven male continued to complain about the toy while they waited.

"I still need to figure out how the shucking hell that toy assembles!"

"Dude, just return the toy back at the store and change it for another one more simple."

"Never! No toy will ever defeat me."

"....It's not returnable, isn't it?"

"No."

Gally chuckles with a shake of his head. The Asian male nudges him but he chuckles too. As he does that, the sandy blonde nods at something behind him, silently telling him to turn around.

Minho turns his head and sees Teresa at the other side of the street, clearly waiting for him. She had her arms behind her back, swinging on her feet and a smile over her face. She waved at Gally once she saw him, and he waved back. Saying goodbye to the tall blonde Minho approached her; Gally saw as Minho made his way to his girlfriend, waving at her as he was near. She waved back at him with the smile still on her face. Gally sees as Teresa opens her mouth, telling Minho something while moving her hands. Moments later, the Asian male takes a step back with a flabbergasted look on his face before engulfing Teresa in a hug, twirling her around.

_'It must have been good news.'_ he thinks.

Deciding in not ruin the moment, -Minho seemed to forget about the gym at all- Gally climbs back in his car and drives to retrieve Aris from the Newt's house. Maybe he should take him to dinner, that will make his anger disappear.

 

* * *

 

When Gally came to pick up Aris, he told him that Minho might not be able to come back and take Dylan to the gym with him. He asked if Newt wanted him to take care of Dylan but the blonde Brit said it was okay. After the two of them leaved, Newt went to the attic to search for some photos his mom had asked him. He brought the box down to his bedroom and put it over the bed. Once he opened it, he started roaming inside it, finding several things that made him revive old times. Photos of his and Thomas' family at Thanksgiving, Christmas, Dylan's birthday. Photos of Minho and Thomas after they graduated from college, making several funny poises. Another with all of them posing for the camera with their robes after college. Another with Teresa wearing a black lace dress while dancing with Minho at her 24th birthday.

Although he enjoyed watching those photos, he loved the Christmas ones more:

One with Aris kissing Gally under the mistletoe, and the next one with both of them raising their hand to cover the camera so it would take a picture. One of him and Thomas also under the mistletoe; him cupping the brunet's face and Thomas' arms around his waist. Another with the whole family gathering together to spend Christmas and New Year together. He and his parents, looking at the camera with a smile on their faces. Stiles holding Dylan as he talked to Derek -who was wearing a reindeer antlers headband. Lydia kissing Thomas' cheek with her eyes closed. His mom and Uncle Scott hugging with Christmas themed sweaters. Three more photos of Derek with a grumpy face and that antlers headband. Peter and Lydia sitting on the couch, both of them asleep and resting their heads against the other. Malia wearing a poinsettia flower crown while standing beside Parrish and pointing at something on the distance. The last one was of him, Thomas and Dylan, with Thomas trying to make the baby look at the front, but the baby was more interested in his thumb.

Newt chuckles at the photo. Underneath that photo he found several CD cases with titles written with black sharpie: **'TERESA'S 24th BIRTHDAY'** , **'NEWT'S 24th BIRTHDAY'** , **'MINHO'S 24th BIRTHDAY'** , **'ARIS' 24th & 25th BIRTHDAY'**, **'THOMAS' BIRTHDAY'** , **'GALLY'S BIRTHDAY'** -including almost all of their birthdays-, and also **'DYLAN'S FIRST BIRTHDAY'**.

And then he found a small CD with the words **'WEDDING'** written on top of it.

With a smile appearing over his face, Newt grabbed the CD case and went to where the TV and the DVD were. He inserted the CD inside the DVD and went back to sit on his bed, grabbing he control and turning the TV on. Once the video appeared on screen he presses play.

The screen was pitch black but you could hear some voices. The camera started moving around, and some rustling could be heard too.

_"You have it? You have it?"_ came a male voice.

_"Yes-_

_"You have it?"_

"Yes, Minho! I know how to use a video camera!" Teresa's face appeared on the screen, her being the one holding the camera to record, "Geez, calm down. This isn't even your wedding day, and you are more nervous than the actual grooms."

She moved the camera so it could focus the Asian male standing a few meters in front of her; Minho was wearing a nice black tuxedo and was combing his hair with his right hand.

"Please, did you saw those two shanks? Thomas is pacing around the room chanting something, and Newt must be throwing salt over his shoulder for good luck."

"Minho, the camera is on."

The Asian male stays still for a moment. "...I knew that. Hey, guys," he waves at the camera, "Love you both."

The camera shakes slightly as the girl chuckles. There's the sound of someone knocking on a door and the camera moves to the door.

"Hey, guys! Five minutes!" says some voice from the other side of the door.

"Okay!" yell both Minho and Teresa.

Minho turns to look at his girlfriend, "You ready?"

"Yeah. How do I look?"

"If I could, I would eat you right now."

"...Minho, the camera is still on."

Minho's eyes widen and he walks to grab the camera, "Oh, _shi-_

The scene cuts immediately and Newt chuckles, shaking his head at his friend's antics. The next scene cuts to a scene which Newt recognizes immediately and will always treasure. The moment Thomas and he were getting married, taking their vows, surrounded by all their family and friends.

Minho was the best man -who didn't see that coming?- and was standing behind Thomas, followed by Alby and Gally. On Newt side were Teresa, Aris and Malia. Both Allison and Stiles were standing on each side with their respective sons. Malia waved at someone on the public, maybe Parrish -who had been together with her since a few years ago. Derek and Andrew were Sitting over the chairs, and beside the brunet were Peter, Lydia and the twins -Aiden & Ethan-. Over the other side, beside Derek were Scott, Isaac, and the twins -Alex and Max-. Behind them where the grandparents and the rest of the family.

The camera focused back to Newt and Thomas, who were staring at each other with equal smiles on their faces. The minister continued with his speech, and so the couple turned to face him instead.

"Newton Reed, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

Newt turns to look at the brunet with a smile, "With all my heart."

"And do you, Thomas Alexander Hale, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"No, I don't."

There were gasps all around the place. Both their parents paled and looked confused. The camera caught Teresa and Minho's reaction; they looked at each other with panic in their eyes. Newt turned to look at Thomas with a kicked puppy face, but then Thomas turned to look at him with a sweet smile,

"I take him for much more than that. For my lover, my life companion, my very best friend." as he started saying that, an equally if not brighter smile appeared on Newt's face.

Everyone managed to find their air again. Teresa closed her eyes and putted a hand over her chest while Minho sighed and it seemed like he mentally cursed Thomas.

"If anyone here can give good cause as to why these two should not be married, let them speak now or forever hold their peace."

In that instant both Stiles and Allison turned around with their hands on their hips, glaring at everyone in case someone would say something. Some seemed like they wanted to laugh at that action, but they didn't. When nothing happened, both parents turned back to the ceremony.

The minister continues, "By the powers vested in me, I now pronounce you husbands. You may now kiss."

They didn't even have to be told. They launched at each other, locking their lips in a passionate yet tender kiss. Everyone around started applauding, even some whistling -mostly Malia- and shouting. The two men kissing didn't seem to hear any of them; they were too immersed in their kiss to do it. Newt had both hands cupping the brunet's face while Thomas' hands were bound around his waist, holding him close.

Looking at the video, Newt raised his hand and stared at the band around his ring finger. He smiled at it.

The scene cuts to the wedding reception. Everyone was sitting in their tables, plates in front of them and glasses filled with wine. Someone was heard talking but the camera moved to the newlyweds. Thomas grabbed Newt's hand and kissed, just above the ring that shinned just as much as the blonde's smile. Again, it seemed like Teresa was the one recording as her reflection showed in the windows. Newt's grandfather -Chris- had given a speech and everyone was applauding at him. Then it's Minho's turn, so he stands up and takes the podium after the speech and he clears his throat humorously.

"First of all," Minho begins, looking serious and everyone becomes silent, "I want to say that Thomas owes me ten bucks for that one time in high school he didn’t believe me when I said both of you are going to be happy together, that both of you are endgame and I'd like to collect said ten bucks after the reception is over."

There's collective laughter among the audience, Teresa chuckling under her breath.

_"THAT WAS YEARS AGO!"_ Thomas yells and there's laughter again.

"Nevertheless, I'm very happy for you both. You both suit each other very well and it's nice to see you officially together. Name your firstborn after me." he raises his glass.

Thomas almost throws his boutonnière at him.

 

_"What are you watching?"_

 

Newt was startled by a voice coming from behind him and he pauses the video and turns around to see Thomas standing over the door, both hands in his jeans pockets. "Tommy, you scared me." he looks back at the still-paused TV, "Nothing... I was looking for some old photos and I found this."

"Our wedding day?" he asked as he approached the bed and sat beside his husband.

"Yeah, my second best day ever."

Thomas raises an eyebrow, "Second? What was your first best day?"

"When I met you."

"And the third one?"

"When we had Dylan."

Thomas just looks at him with a smile before he kisses him. Newt's hand finds itself cupping his cheek to bring the brunet closer to him. The kiss is started to get steamy when the phone starts ringing and seconds later Dylan starts crying.

Thomas separate from him and groans, "The phone."

"Dylan." says Newt with a sigh.

"I'll get the phone, you get Dylan."

With a nod, Thomas gives him a quick peck on the lips before jumping up from the bed and towards the door, exiting their room. Newt incorporates on bed and then gets up, walking out of their room to get to Dylan's nursery room. He entered the room and smiled softly as he approached the baby on his crib, little tears in his eyes as he cried.

"Hey. Hey, little man. You awake?" he leans down in the crib and picks up the baby, bringing him close to his chest and swaying from one side to the other as he soothes the infant. The baby's cries start lowering until he's only kind of babbling. "You wanna hear good news? Daddy's home!" somehow, Newt doesn't know if the baby can understand him or maybe he's just responding by Newt's voice and smile, but Dylan smiles as soon as he says 'daddy'. "Yeah, Daddy's home!"

Newt gets back inside the room and continues cradling the baby closer to him. He starts singing softly under his breath and soon he notices that Dylan fell asleep. Smiling softly at his baby, he goes to the crib and gently puts the baby down, being careful of his head.

Newt walks out of the room and sees that the brunet man is still on the phone. His husband notices him. He makes beckoning gesture for Thomas to come to him.

Thomas turns to the phone, "Dad, I gotta run. Merry Christmas! We'll pick you up at the airport tomorrow! You'll be the best Christmas gift of all! Bye-bye!" he hangs up and turns around, walking back to his husband.

Once Thomas is standing beside him, the blonde grabs him by the wrist and brings him to the nursery room to see their son.

"He fell asleep again." he whispers to Thomas. Their hands intertwine, "Join me at the living room?"

"Always."

They go downstairs and sit on the big couch, hands still intertwined. Newt brings both legs up and hugs them with his free arm. Because of the chilly weather, Thomas grabs the comfy blanket at the back of the couch over them, and brings Newt closer to him; the blonde cuddles closer to the brunet, his head resting over his shoulder. They stay like that, without saying anything. Everything is so quiet that Newt can hear Thomas' heartbeat. Their hands are still intertwined and are warm.

Thomas lets out a sigh and Newt raises his head to look at him,

"What is it?"

"Nothing, I just... I'm thinking about my life. About how great it is. How much I love you and Dylan. That how when I was in highschool I met this incredible handsome guy that changed my life. He made me change also." Newt smiles, "He made me want to change. And without him I wouldn't have all this. Maybe this house and my job yeah, but they wouldn't be the same without someone to share it with. Since I was little I always wanted to love someone like my dad loves my pops, and I wanted someone to love me back." he brings their joined hands and kisses Newt's, "So I wanted to say 'thank you'. Thank you for giving me all of this."

Newt also kisses their joined hands and smiles brightly, "I love you."

"I love you too."

They lean forward and kiss. Newt's hand goes to cup the brunet's face and bring him closer. Thomas grabs the end of the blanket that was about to fall on the floor and covers them again, his hand settling over Newt's torso. The night is chilly, it has been a wonderful year, their baby is sleeping peacefully upstairs and he's kissing the love of his life. Yeah, he really is thankful for everything.

 

 

_"If I lived a million lives, I would've felt a million feelings and I still would've fallen a million times for you." -R.M. Drake_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!!! (I know it's not Christmas already but who cares) Merry Christmas everyone! Have a wonderful week!~


End file.
